Recently, while I was in Grass Valley, I had the honor of working on an organic farm. It was the middle of July, hot and dry. I was working at the U-Pick site and in between avid pickers, I would pick fruit for the stand. My assignment this day was to pick from the sour cherry trees.
I strapped my picking bucket ( a shallow 1/2 circle plastic bucket) around my head, resting on my stomach and headed off to the dwarf sour cherry trees, which actually looked more like very tall bushes, (way over my head).
I noticed that up close, the cherry trees were the cherries I had always seen depicted in pictures. Their bright red color reminded me of Christmas! I began as I always do, with an introduction of myself, complimenting the tree on it's beauty (just as you would a friend), asking permission (simply showing respect) and always in gratitude for the sacred honor of being totally connected with part of creation.
The sun was very hot and so I moved inside of the tree I was completely surrounded by the branches. It felt like I was being caressed in the arms of a lover, protected from the sun, basking in the gentle breeze (spirit) that gently rustled through the branches and I was feeling protected, safe and loved. The cherries can be quite sticky, especially when the pit is occasionally left behind but it wasn't a 'sticky' I was wanting to get off in a hurry, it seemed important to savor entirely what the tree was offering.
While the tree was providing all the above mentioned gifts to me, I realized that I too was providing a gift to the tree. I was helping to lighten its load. Some of the branches were so full of cherries they were a strain on the branches. My time alone with the sour cherry tree was truly intimate encounter and a sacred honoring on both sides.
After my first day working on the organic farm, it was very clear that I had a Spiritual Encounter with the Divine right in the middle of everyday living.
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