Wild woman, Jemma Louise Hunt, takes you to the brooding wilds of South Wales via her words.
The temperature rises, the ice melts, and in the trickling waters of Winter's thaw, our hearts soften in preparation for the blossoming ahead. We are on the cusp of Spring, a season of playful flirtation, budding romance, and the birth of new awakenings. For those living in alignment with nature’s seasonal energies, this is a time of great joy and beginnings.
Every season of Nature has a unique cyclical story and energy pattern that we can use as a guiding metaphor to gain a deeper understanding of our inner seasons. One such cyclical pattern is the seasonal chapters locked within our hearts. Taking a step back and viewing our capacity to love and accept love in return - including the emotions and reactions it conjures within us - as fluctuating, ever-evolving seasonal patterns helping us form lesser attachments to the feelings we are experiencing in the present moment. A solace through the pain and anguish - that this too shall pass, a gentle reminder to give gratitude for every moment of pleasure, embracing it as if it is the last.
The story of the heart begins with Autumn - a chapter of tumultuous emotions, mental chaos, and eventual release. Just as the temperatures rise and fall outside, we start to endure conflicting elements within. Perhaps you look towards a place or relationship that you once held dear with growing indifference? You don't yet know what you want or what you need but you know that the relationship you have been chasing or the heart that you once called home no longer brings you loving tranquillity. Your inner Autumn is a time of great change, and like all change it is cluttered with the debris of fall. You might look back over some of your choices and actions now with regret because they no longer align with who you are becoming, but this is no cause for remorse. We are seasonal beings, fluid in life's journey and what felt right in one season of our lives, might not accord with the next, and this is perfectly okay. Such conflicting thoughts and emotions can cause conflict with those around you as you maunder through the frustrations and deeply hidden pain. This is a time when we might look towards distractions and vices to lead us away from what we feel, but I invite you to step away from distraction and face the conjuring storm. Cry, scream, shout but walk this path alone. Don't invite others into the chaos, your pain is not theirs to endure.
In contrast to the bedlam of an autumnal heart, the Winter heart is in a perpetual state of apathy. It is shielded, encapsulated in shards of ice, and frozen to the core. It is a heart not ready to love or be loved in return, and so it retreats into itself for a hibernation of inner work and eventual self-love. When our heart is in Winter our trust in others is often frayed and we can unintentionally inflict pain upon those closest as we find it difficult to traverse our own emotions. Feelings of lack and low self-worth that result from childhood trauma, conditioning, and past relationships can lead to mixed signals and volatile reactions. Be gentle with others' hearts at this time and have the courage to set them free when you know that the relationship can no longer be what you both need it to be. Make the space for healing and learn to spend time alone with your inner guidance, and slowly through the silence you will begin to hear the whispers of your soul’s truth. What does your winter heart murmur to you in the darkness? What do you truly yearn for? Do you grow tired of repeated patterns of behaviour, and can you begin to understand your role in these reoccurring outcomes? Might you now be ready for new learnings and the coming spring?
As the winter heart passes, sunlight glimmers through the budding branches, slowly reaching outwards and permeating the heart chakra, illuminating your energy center with blinding light. The Spring heart is a time of awakening and endless possibility. Gone are the days of heavy stagnation, navigating through the thick fog and driving mist. This is an inner season of sunshine, lighter days, and the tingling, spiritual sensation of prosperity and hope. The natural world is alive as foals frolic and lambs bleat, and the birds put on an effervescent display through melodic courtship. There is an energy of innocence as your heart softens at the edges and you look upon the world with fresh eyes, seeing love as if for the first time. Could it be that love is far more than a romantic relationship between two people? Can you begin to see that love is in everything? It is in the shared memories with your closest friends or when your pet snuggles close when you’re sick. Love is in the tenderness you give to the garden, and in the joy of watching the wildflowers weave in the evening breeze. It is in the ever-changing landscape, the growing richness of the green grass as spring gathers momentum, feeding your heart chakra and expanding your capacity to love, one mindful encounter at a time.
A heart in Summer is a heart to behold. Like burgeoning trees and blossom-filled branches, you are now in full bloom, ready for love and ready to receive love in all forms. Your body is porous, feeding off the intense energies of abundance that emanate from the land, radiating it back out towards all that encounter you. What you seek is seeking you, and like honey bees to nectar, your essence is alluring, seducing the world with passion and fervor that soar from your sacral and solar plexus chakras. You carry a soul of a wildfire that yearns to express itself through bold creativity and ravishing sexual encounters. Emotions are accentuated and every experience is poetry as you occupy the long, hot days reaching for all that you dream and desire. You are irresistible and a summer heart knows that it is enough. It has a wholesome view of love, free of unhealthy attachments and controlling, manipulative behaviour. This is a time of deep gratitude and self-acceptance as you fall in love with all that you are and everything that has led you to this moment of clarity. That outside validation and frivolous attention is a shallow substitute for an unconditional acceptance of your soul's truthful deepness, and you never needed another's heart to heal your own.
No season is superior to the other and each is equally as important as we journey the continual cycles of life. We need to swim in the deep waters of our emotional seasons to be able to show up in the world as our true, authentic loving selves. Only then do we attain the capability to open our hearts to the varying depictions of love in the world around us.
So whatever stage you're at in your season of love, make sure you embrace it wholeheartedly.
Mindful Invitation:
Whether you are setting out on a walk within nature or simply enjoying an afternoon in the garden, I invite you to dedicate the first couple of minutes to meditating on the word, “Love”. Using your breath, permit love to flow through you as you breathe in deeply for the count of four, exhaling for the count of five.
It might help to visualise Love as a colour. I generally use pastel pinks and luscious greens in heart-healing work, but the choice is completely yours. As always, there is no right or wrong way in nature connection.
On every inhalation, I ask you to hear these words, "Breathe in love". Soften your heart space to them, expelling any resistance and on your outbreath hear, "Exhale pain".
Breathe in love.
Breathe in the colourful energies. What colours does your mind's eye see?
Exhale pain.
Exhale the shackles that keep your heart guarded and untrusting.
Breathe in love.
Breathe in the Divine love-filled energies of nature, pulling them down deep into the belly and the lower chakras.
Exhale pain.
Exhale the thoughts and memories that torment your beating heart and hinder your capacity to love.
Breathe in love.
Breathe in the kaleidoscope colours. Invite them to tend to your wounds, nourishing, soothing.
Exhale pain.
Exhale the hurt that thwarts self-love and prevents you from loving freely.
Breathe in Love
Exhale Pain.
Breathe in Love
Exhale Pain.
Continue this mantra until you begin to feel a warmth permeating your heart space and a lightness in your soul. Set aside your shield and with your arms loosely at your sides - palms facing outward - begin a courtship with nature's current season. Utilize your senses and lean into the present energies, and contemplate how they might represent the current season within your own heart. Carry my words as a guide on this inner journey. Narrated with love, from my heart to yours.
About the Author:
Jemma Louise Hunt is a poetic writer from South Wales, UK. She guides others in the art of Nature Connection, using the power of descriptive storytelling, poetry, and mindful invitations. Connect with her on Instagram @tales_fromawildwoman and share your own experiences using the exercises in this column
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