Beloved friend,
The blossom season for dahlias is late summer and autumn, but the turning of spring has been full of them for this Dahlia! A couple of weeks ago we were driving home from the Sunday morning community cold plunge at the beach (which I've taken to calling Sea Church) when we passed a cardboard box that said DAHLIAS. It was sitting on the side of the road in the way that means "help yourself". I squealed, James looped the car around, and I dashed over, reached my hand in the box and pulled of a wad of tubers.
The sea here is about 48 degrees Fahrenheit (8.8 Celsius) and we plunge for ten minutes, so afterward we are in an altered state, which is the point of a cold plunge: you're full of cortisol and adrenaline, endorphins, norepinephrine, and dopamine. We are feeling good and not the sharpest tools in the shed for a bit after the plunge! Which I am telling you because it explains why it took me a couple of minutes to realize that what I'd picked up and plopped into my lap was a giant muddy wad of like two dozen dahlia tubers. I felt badly about having taken so many! I'd left a lot in the box, but I'd also taken more than I knew what to do with.
On the morning of the equinox, last Friday, I went out to get the car warmed up for our drive to the special Friday morning plunge in honor of the vernal equinox. There was a potluck after. We hadn't planned anything to bring. My eye fell on the wad of dahlia tubers sitting on the garden shelf. AHA! I grabbed a bucket, separated all the tubers, and popped it in the trunk.
At the plunge we start out in a big lumpy circle on the beach; there are usually 40-70 people. The lovely woman who leads this event (Karyn Stillwell, whose Stillwell Sauna we look forward to the opening of in May) leads us in a little gentle movement to warm up, then we strip off our robes and walk into the sea together. This Friday equinox morning there was a young woman next to me who I'd never seen before, so I smiled and asked if it was her first time.
She said that she'd done it before in baths. This was her first time at the sea. I said that Karyn talks new folks through it and did she want me to walk her over there? She said nope, she'd just go in with me. Our feet were hitting the water's edge at this point. I explained what was going to happen – that we'd walk out a bit farther, count to three, exhale slowly, and sink in. "Okay!" she said. I smiled and said, "I'm Dahlia." She stopped walking and her eyes went wide. "That is the name of my angel!" she said. I paused for a split second, took a breath, shrugged, and dove in: smiled more and said, "Well, here I am!"
As we continued on into the sea she shared that she was there because yesterday had been tough and she was looking for a shift. What a gift to us both that the flow of the universe, in its chaos or wisdom or whatever-all-this-is, set us side by side in that moment. Angels are not a part of my personal experience, but when other people honor me by sharing their experiences of nonordinary reality, I treat this as an honor. What a precious experience it must be to have a holy creature who looks out for you! What a precious thing it was for me, on the first morning of spring, to be someone's angel for a few minutes.
The cold is pretty shocking when it's new and it can be kind to aim your attention to things other than thinking "HOLY WOW THIS IS COLD", so I drew her attention to a friend who was wading in behind us. "Hey, look! See that guy? Watch!" and then Jim did what he does every week – hit the point where his cane felt like more of a hindrance than a help, turned, and yeeted it (heaved it in a powerful arc through the air) onto the beach.
Another woman noticed that there was a newcomer and walked over to support my new friend, making eye contact and exaggeratting her own breath, slow and deep in an elegant nonverbal invitation to the newcomer to entrain with her. I was grateful to learn this. Feeling met and connected makes a big difference in the nature of your first experience, so folks who love the community dip tend to be welcoming and supportive to newcomers. We got to meet this new person and I got to learn more about how to do that well.
After a couple of minutes our new friend looked at me and said, with a little furrow in her brow, "My hands feel funny."
"That means it's time to get out!" I replied sunnily. "You've been in long enough. You did it! Congratulations! Make sure to move around and warm up!"
She smiled, said thanks, and turned to wade back toward the shore. She was gone by the time we got out. After I dried off, I walked through the crowd with that bucket of dahlia tubers. In the end I didn't keep a single one. It felt good to send them onward, gifted freely, just as they'd come to me.
May the spring which is now afoot nourish your heart, beloved friend. There is kindness and something like magic afoot, even now.
Dahlia
Resources
Living is Aging
"Old people are not the other; they are you, if you’re lucky enough not to die first," is an idea I'm going to be holding close. These words were spoken by Joan Price, author of Naked at Our Age and The Ultimate Guide to Sex after 50 while discussing her new book, Sex After Grief: Navigating Your Sexuality After Losing Your Beloved with Anna Martin in the NY Times. As a 56 year old woman I'm intimately fascinated by aging, and, in this season of life where I am neither, I am ever more grateful for the perspectives of both the elderly and youth.Gift link
It's common these days for opinions to be strong and binary, and that is not what I wish to express on this next topic; I share this with compassion for the complexity of the topic, care for your wellbeing, and absolute respect for your agency. This quick Instagram article, written by a somatic psychologist who has had Botox, is a great primer on the interaction of our facial musculature, emotions, and mirror neurons in connecting and relating, and how this is affected by Botox. I find it clear and compassionate. I hope you will, too.
If you are someone who enjoys this treatment, I do not wish to yuck your yum. I want you to do what pleases you with your body and your whole precious human life! I also think that we deserve to understand the emotional and relational aspects of our choices. Please note there is material both in the images and the caption – in the caption she suggests how to seek resources for this treatment with minimal negative impact.
Speaking of aging, a new stereotype-shattering study showed that half of people 65 and older improved on measures of cognitive and physical function as they aged! Gift link. "In Levy’s new study, she and her co-author looked at data from thousands of people over 65 and saw that improving with age wasn’t the exception. It was almost as common as decline."
Remember Yoga?
The BBC did an incredible round-up of the research on the benefits of yoga. "The mind-altering power of yoga could improve your mental health"is written in a simple, narrative style like this – with dozens of links to research that backs up what's being described. I've been teaching yoga for over 30 years and it got ME more excited about yoga! Inspiring for your personal practice and a wonderful resource for sharing with loved ones. Thanks to Heidi
My Morning Series yoga meets via Zoom 7-8:15am Pacific – and can accommodate 8am departures – Mondays and Wednesdays. If you can do a sun salutation, you'll be fine! The variation Cypress is checking out in this photo is advanced and was optional.
Cosmic Grounding
Workshops for Living are the spiritual heart of my work in the world, the cozy temple where I gather. We hang out online talking about how to be human and sharing gentle guided meditation. Since returning to land 3 years ago I've worked hard to build the sense of community here, and it's strong now – we connect about our practice and living in small groups, send folks going through hard times cards in the mail, and in the current workshop someone made glass galaxy pendants for anyone who wanted one. The balance of unconditional love, clear communication, and excellent boundaries is always a baseline in any Workshop for Loving. Our meditations are currently grounded in the body, the Earth, and space, and the relief folks are finding in connecting to their bodies while expanding into awareness of... everything; oh, it's beautiful. One participant says:
"I am grateful for the discovery and gifts of this yummy world sculpted by you! The guided meditations, teachings, inclusive practice, and community are resonating with me. My pod is rich with mutual support and I appreciate that anchor in my life. There are things I’m finding here, and with this guidance, that I’ve been wanting for a long time. The unlock of being worthy simply because I am part of the universe is a game changer for me."
Spring session runs April 18 - June 20, then Autumn in September. Details and registration for Spring.
Resistance
This Saturday, March 28 is the next No Kings protest! I warmly encourage you to get out into the streets because it feels SO GOOD to be in a giant throng of people who feel your desire to the evil that is taking place, singing and shaking tambourines and dancing in inflatable unicorn suits and carrying puppets and holding babies and pushing their friends in wheelchairs. This is likely to be the biggest day of protest in the history of the United States! Please come. Really, darling, it will do your heart good.
Singing Resistance began in Minneapolis in January and is spreading rapidly – there's a group in my small town! This is a great way to find likely-good-hearted folks to connect with in resistance. Here's a news report on their origin. Thanks to Molly
Supporting Me So I Can Support You
This is entirely human work – my work, done by hand, with my own mind and heart. I do not use AI in the creation of what I offer you. I don't have one. I invest at least half a day each week in creating this for you.. It's a labor of love; I currently earn about $15/hr. If you enjoy my work you can give me a raise! You could make a one-time donation of thanks of any size. You could upgrade to a paid subscription for as little as $5/month.
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If you are a supporter, thank you; I am honored and humbled by your willingness to support my work in the world, and you have put food on my table.
