19/04/18 | By Keli Tomlin
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Impotance of Place Keli Tomlin

As a green-spirited pagan, one whose inspiration and connection has always been most strongly felt within the Land rather than people or traditions or words, it shouldn’t surprise me that the environment in which we live is of vital importance to our spiritual health. Yet here I am, at the end of a long month of moving house, and each morning I sit in constant awe at the unusual sense of peace and tranquillity that has settled deep in my soul. This new place, into which I am sinking my roots, is affecting me more strongly that I could ever have anticipated.

It starts with the silence; a silence that isn’t really silent at all but that is rich with wind song and bird call. These sounds, that our ears have been hearing since the evolution of our species, call to a place deep inside us; a place that recognises the harmony of breath in the spaces between. As the song grows and broadens with the daylight - encompassing sheep stirring, cockerels crowing, geese gathering and, yes, the occasional car humming - it maintains that harmonious quality; cradled by the bowl of the valley in which my new home rests.

It isn’t a large valley; the sides of it are visible from a few minutes’ walk across the village and yet it feels like a world of its own. The rim is crowned with trees and the occasional softened peak; not quite the crags the district is famed for but grand enough in their own way to inspire a sense of grace and strength. Following the curve down into the bowl, a myriad of landscapes meets the eye; from farmed land to grazed pasture to heather covered moor and as I sweep my gaze past each I feel the thrum of energy from the creatures and folk that might once have or still must press their feet or roots there. In this little England I am surrounded by a multiculture that, while not human in creation, is for me just as important; for it connects us humans to all the other life around us. I see the Web of Life stretched out like a patchwork quilt all around me and I am held and warmed by its presence.

The light is more natural than electric here. From the kitchen window or over the garden wall I witness the change from night to day and back again. This is entertainment like I have never known, but oft dreamed of; drawn into the endless dance with an interest that is instinctive and ancient, rather than empty and escapist. The slow, inevitable progression of cyclical time calls my heartbeat into rhythm and I find the sink into myself, to where I can hear my spirit speaking, is becoming as natural as growing.

There is no need to force connection here. Where once I would strive to create atmosphere with incense and music and use tools or images to draw the mind in the right direction, here there is no need. Nor to trick the senses into finding the Web beneath the humdrum of human living. Instead I simply step away from all those trappings and onto the Land itself, whether out on the footpaths or up the garden path; all lead back to spirit in the end.

 

I am lucky. I know this and gratitude is pouring out of me in all directions as I seek ways to make it known. In this, I am finding the expression of my pagan spirit blossoming anew, in a way it hasn’t since I was a seeking teen. Mini altars and shrines appear in unlikely places, blessings are murmured or laughed or sung at unexpected moments and thanks are given again and again; whether through words, attention, or the simple press of hand against hand. The trees draw me to relationship, the softness in the air invites me to take deep rest and above all the Land reminds me daily, moment to moment, that there will always be something new to see and feel and experience here; for the Wheel is turning and the promise of Spring is in the air.

 

As a green-spirited pagan I have always known the importance of place in one’s relationship to life, to spirit and to Self. It is only now that I am here, in a place - a home - that nourishes all these parts of me and more, that I can allow myself to remember.

Importance of Place Keli Tomlin

 

 

 

Keli is a green-spirited Celebrant and writer based in Derbyshire, UK. She creates ceremonies and holds space for deep connection with the Land and our unique lives and enjoys exploring her own connections through poetry, prose and original stories. Find out more at Keli Tomlin Ceremonies.

 

 

Images copyright Keli Tomlin

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