Order Disorder Reorder
"It seems quite clear that we grow by:
Passing beyond some perfect ORDER
Through an often painful and seemingly unnecessary DISORDER
To an enlightened REORDER
This is the pattern that connects and solidifies our relationship with everything around us."
-Richard Rohr
Observation
of Nature
Is one of the greatest gifts of being a farmer.
In Nature
Everything transforms.
As do we.
Transformation
Does Indeed
Come about in stages such as that described by Richard Rohr
Stage 1: Order
Our first naïveté.
This is pretense. Belief that the status quo is entirely good.
Stage 2: Disorder
Then transformation begins.
This is Crisis. Chaos. We are forced to question what we thought was true.
Stage 3: Reorder
It finds a home in the only world that ever existed.
This is authenticity. A reordered life. Where paradox is a part.
You know this to be true, don't you?
In moments of Disorder, I often remind myself:
This is simply living through
A Beautiful Transformation
The Seed
"For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone...
...the shell cracks,
its insides come out and
everything changes.
To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction."
- Cynthia Occelli
And, yet, it feels like a celebration, no?
At this very moment my little seeds have germinated!
I watched them every day with such eager anticipation for their becoming.
And become, they will.
Your sip, brightened first by my hope of their transformation.
Perhaps we should celebrate
our own emergence from
The Disorder of Transformation
in such ways.
The Butterfly
"The caterpillar turns to liquid before turning into a butterfly. Liquid...
...thus washing away any speck of his caterpillar self as he lies completely vulnerable to his environment in his chrysalis shell.
One good solid gust of wind and the caterpillars boned.
— The Hippie
Quite a Fragile State
We find ourselves in as we experience Disorder.
We may question.
We may stunt our growth by trying to return to our caterpillar selves.
We may stay here too long; cynical, bitter, angry.
But we know:
Disorder is not intended to be our final resting place.
"A moment of crisis can be a moment of growth,
as the wounded self prepares to transform.
From the chrysalis of my pain,
I will forge my healing.
The wings of my newborn self."
— Marianne Williamson
The Cup of Tea
“Tea is simple: loose leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup...
...I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.
I am informed by the tea, changed.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
What I love most about a cup of tea?
It is:
Leaves
Petals
Light
Nutrients
Color
Energy
Willingly transformed into this:
Calm
Introspective
Moment
Into me
Also willingly transformed
Dear Tea Drinker,
My blessing to you this month: May we always be aware that, like nature, we are ever transforming from ORDER through DISORDER to REORDER.
Like Seeds:
May we celebrate the breaking open of our old selves to emerge as bright beautiful new ones.
Like Butterflies:
May we recognize our fragility as we transform, moving through each stage with steadiness and honor.
Like a Cup of Tea:
May we acknowledge the transformation of energy in to tranquility and allow it within ourselves.
As always:
Thank you
I'm honored to be your herbal tea farmer.
Be well,
Shannon