{"id":20116,"date":"2019-06-01T01:10:18","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T06:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=21528"},"modified":"2019-06-03T19:03:32","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T00:03:32","slug":"crones-corner-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2019\/06\/01\/crones-corner-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Crone\u2019s Corner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\nare All Pollinators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nEvery\nfew years I retreat for reasons all my own, in order to take\ninventory, if you will, of my progression, my journey, and my life. \nIt is never an easy time for me; it usually precedes autumn, as I\nbegin to feel the decay of the annual plants, as the leaves are\ntouched by subtle shades of reds and yellows before ultimately\nfalling to the ground in this beautiful New England scenery. \nReminiscent of my own spiritual death and rebirth, I take this\nemotional and mental inventory. It doesn\u2019t happen every year, not\nany more; now it happens when things become balanced and stagnation\nbegins to set in. Am I surrounding myself with challenging\nintellect, am I here for a reason that is worthy, was I spared the\nfinality of the cancer for something more than all of this, what is\nit, really, that I must do here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nhave changed my pace a little, spring is budding forth with so many\nopportunities, so many beautiful and blossoming ideas, and as I chase\naway the dark period, this time around, it brings me to thinking\nabout going out on this limb of understanding and having my day of\nreckoning. You see, a number of years ago I had an illness that the\nmajority of women who are diagnosed with die in relatively short\norder. Yet, here I sit, defying all medical odds, healthy as the\nproverbial horse. I don\u2019t ask \u201cWhy\u201d in the face of my Matron,\ninstead, I ask \u201cWhat shall I do now, Mother?\u201d and I await Her\nresponses, which tend to come in ominous signs and morbid symbolic\ngestures. This time, it was ultimately revealed that Mother Nature\u2019s\nhand is in all things. Then the word came\u2026it was just two\nwords\u2026Pollinator and Blossom! And there I went, off on a tangent\nof thinking of the similarities of the pollinators of the world and\nthe role of the blossoms. Then came the big reveal!!!! We are ALL\npollinators and we all experience the blossoms in our own way. While\nit doesn\u2019t matter which kind of pollinators we are, we each have a\nvalue in this community, and we must allow the blossoms to open up\nfully to be appreciated by all, for the greater good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\ngo from place to place, shedding light, asking painful questions,\nallowing others to see themselves truly, for perhaps the first time\nin their lives, taking a harsh look at our own agendas. We are some\ntimes here for a season, and sometimes for a lifetime, but ALWAYS and\nin all ways for a reason. Pollinators. There are hummingbirds,\nplayful and lively, flitting from blossom to blossom, extracting\nnectar and seeming to stand still in mid-flight. The hummingbirds\nare shy creatures who would rather not be touched, seemingly arriving\nout of thin air and, in an instant, they are gone. The defense\nmechanism of a hummingbird is its swift flight, away from danger and\non to the next blossom. Then there are wasps, extracting pollen,\nbuzzing gracefully from bloom to bloom in swift, yet languid flight. \nThe wasp will defend its position with a mighty sting without\nwarning. Both of these beings are quite valuable in the life of the\nblossom; allowing for growth, seeking the sweetness within and\nextracting from it the purest essence. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If\nI liken this simile to my own experiences, I have come to know many\nhummingbirds. Seemingly elusive, never letting any one very close\nfor very long, flitting about pollinating blossoms with a quiet\nreassurance and moving along to the next. They seemingly stand still\nas they extract the sweetness of life, yet their wings are working\novertime to keep them moving along on their journey. I have also\ncome to know many wasps, flying around with graceful fluidity and\nself assurance, extracting the sweetness of life with an\never-vigilant eye toward any predators, waiting and ready to stink in\ndefense of their territory. Two very different creatures, yet\npollinators, the symbiotic relationship between the pollinator and\nthe blossom is a wonder! We need them all, the blossoms, the\nhummingbirds and the wasps. They all have value. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI\nknow a few hummingbirds; some of them are friends and acquaintances. \nI know a few wasps; some of them are friends and acquaintances. We\nare all pollinators. I am a pollinator too; but the most important\nthing of all is to recognize that we all have value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nthe Author:<\/strong>\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shirley\nLenhard <\/strong>has\nbeen a practicing Witch and a Pagan since 1983 and lives in New\nEngland with her husband. She is employed full time in the legal\nfield and has her Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of\nSouth Florida. Shirley looks forward to living her best possible life\nby giving back to the Pagan Community and has created the Facebook\ngroup \u201cPagan\nPlannertarium<\/a>\u201d where she provides a safe home for fellow pagans\nto have discussions about their path and to get free planner stickers\nand layouts. Shirley is a past writer for Llewellyn Publishing and\nThe Peace Paper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are All Pollinators Every few years I retreat for reasons all my own, in order to take inventory, if you will, of my progression, my journey, and my life. It is never an easy time for me; it usually precedes autumn, as I begin to feel the decay of the annual plants, as the leaves are touched by subtle shades of reds and yellows before ultimately falling to the ground in this beautiful New England scenery. Reminiscent of my own spiritual death and rebirth, I take this emotional and mental inventory. It doesn\u2019t happen every year, not any more; now it happens when things become balanced and stagnation begins to set in. Am I surrounding myself with challenging intellect, am I here for a reason that is worthy, was I spared the finality of the cancer for something more than all of this, what is it, really, that I must do here? I have changed my pace a little, spring is budding forth with so many opportunities, so many beautiful and blossoming ideas, and as I chase away the dark period, this time around, it brings me to thinking about going out on this limb of understanding and having my day of reckoning. You see, a number of years ago I had an illness that the majority of women who are diagnosed with die in relatively short order. Yet, here I sit, defying all medical odds, healthy as the proverbial horse. I don\u2019t ask \u201cWhy\u201d in the face of my Matron, instead, I ask \u201cWhat shall I do now, Mother?\u201d and I await Her responses, which tend to come in ominous signs and morbid symbolic gestures. This time, it was ultimately revealed that Mother Nature\u2019s hand is in all things. Then the word came\u2026it was just two words\u2026Pollinator and Blossom! And there I went, off on a tangent of thinking of the similarities of the pollinators of the world and the role of the blossoms. Then came the big reveal!!!! We are ALL pollinators and we all experience the blossoms in our own way. While it doesn\u2019t matter which kind of pollinators we are, we each have a value in this community, and we must allow the blossoms to open up fully to be appreciated by all, for the greater good. We go from place to place, shedding light, asking painful questions, allowing others to see themselves truly, for perhaps the first time in their lives, taking a harsh look at our own agendas. We are some times here for a season, and sometimes for a lifetime, but ALWAYS and in all ways for a reason. Pollinators. There are hummingbirds, playful and lively, flitting from blossom to blossom, extracting nectar and seeming to stand still in mid-flight. The hummingbirds are shy creatures who would rather not be touched, seemingly arriving out of thin air and, in an instant, they are gone. The defense mechanism of a hummingbird is its swift flight, away from danger and on to the next blossom. Then there are wasps, extracting pollen, buzzing gracefully from bloom to bloom in swift, yet languid flight. The wasp will defend its position with a mighty sting without warning. Both of these beings are quite valuable in the life of the blossom; allowing for growth, seeking the sweetness within and extracting from it the purest essence. If I liken this simile to my own experiences, I have come to know many hummingbirds. Seemingly elusive, never letting any one very close for very long, flitting about pollinating blossoms with a quiet reassurance and moving along to the next. They seemingly stand still as they extract the sweetness of life, yet their wings are working overtime to keep them moving along on their journey. I have also come to know many wasps, flying around with graceful fluidity and self assurance, extracting the sweetness of life with an ever-vigilant eye toward any predators, waiting and ready to stink in defense of their territory. Two very different creatures, yet pollinators, the symbiotic relationship between the pollinator and the blossom is a wonder! We need them all, the blossoms, the hummingbirds and the wasps. They all have value. I know a few hummingbirds; some of them are friends and acquaintances. I know a few wasps; some of them are friends and acquaintances. We are all pollinators. I am a pollinator too; but the most important thing of all is to recognize that we all have value. *** About the Author: Shirley Lenhard has been a practicing Witch and a Pagan since 1983 and lives in New England with her husband. She is employed full time in the legal field and has her Masters Degree in Psychology from the University of South Florida. Shirley looks forward to living her best possible life by giving back to the Pagan Community and has created the Facebook group \u201cPagan Plannertarium\u201d where she provides a safe home for fellow pagans to have discussions about their path and to get free planner stickers and layouts. Shirley is a past writer for Llewellyn Publishing and The Peace Paper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}