The month of October has passed and with it the celebration of my 33 birthday. Every year on my birthday, I reflect on the year past and set intention for the year to come. As I look back on the last 12 months I see both great progress and great struggle. Obstacles presented themselves as teachers, inspiration as opportunity and evolution and challenging transition as an apparent part of this spiritual path.
It was a year I faced some of my most deeply imbedded personal struggles within my self and my relationships. It was a year of refining ‘me’ from the inside out, constructing and tearing down my ego, remembering and reconnecting to the deep channel of spirit that moves through me, a process of creating a life built of truth, peace, power, and purpose. This process still in its infantile stage as I pray for a life of longevity and wisdom.
As I approach this new year, I do so with an intention to live more from the heart, more with spirit and less with the roles defined by the ego. This year I will trust myself and the inner knowing that holds me. I will accept myself as worthy and rare. I will create the life I deserve and receive it fully without fear or doubt. I will be a better parent and a better partner. I will be a more dependable friend. I will be a humble teacher and healer, an agent of change, a vessel of service. I will feel love deeper than ever before. I will nurture my nature and breathe restoration.
My dreams are always very vivid and usually have strong messages. Just before my birthday I had a dream encouraging me to plant a Fig tree in honor of the year to come. I listened to this simple call and treated myself with special gift to celebrate my life and the direction my internal compass is guiding me. I bought myself the most beautiful Fig tree and she is happily taking root in my life.
The Fig tree is one of the oldest fruits known to humans, and holds ancient spiritual meaning throughout many cultures. Its message is, appropriately, one of building upon the past and it is a symbol for trusting intuition. It is believed that its energies help connect the conscious mind with the subconscious mind. The Fig was the sacred tree of the Buddha, under which he found enlightenment. Its essence awakens intuitive insights that bring new perspectives as well as the releasing of blockages. For women, the Fig represents fertility, or in a figurative sense the conception of new ideas or relationships. Unusual for a fruit tree, the Fig can produce two crops a year signifying abundance and opportunity for a life of sweetness.
This year I literally planted my intentions within the earth, a most sacred and memorable ceremony at dusk on a Sunday. Every day since, I give her water and nourishment. I sit with her. I watch and feel her grow. I witness the full bellied fruit ripen with possibility. I talk to her. I see myself as a reflection. And most importantly, I listen.
Rooted in truth and love,
Robin Afinowich
