​It was February in NZ, the third trimester of summer. 
Vibrant green grass flanked by lush trees that have benefited from good rain and warm sunshine surround our home, their roots buried in the warm earth.  Birds sing incessantly to express their delight at the abundance of a bountiful summer.
Other than the native trees and shrubs, our garden consists of a few lettuces, some herbs, roses, hydrangeas, fruit trees, pots of flowering plants and most unexpectedly eight self-sown tomato plants.
Their appearance was a wonderful surprise to us, as we were discussing making a trip to the garden centre to purchase our supply for the season. However, last seasons plants left their seeds behind in the earth, giving life to eight of their progeny who have taken up residence in our plot.
They look very happy where they are clustered together as if in a family group. We didn’t have the heart to break them up and shift them around so we have left them exactly where they decided to surface.
One of the plants has established itself away from the others and we respect its right to be that plant, as there is always one that doesn’t want to fit in with the crowd.
No group would be complete without the runt of the litter whose tiny frame is diminished amongst the towering vines of its siblings.
Of course they didn't take root directly in line with the stakes we had set up from the previous year but that's ok. We decided to work with them and move the stakes to accommodate their birth place and allow them to bloom where they were planted by their parents.
Flowers have appeared on their vines which brings promise of fruit but I really don’t mind if they aren’t fruit bearing, I am just so glad to have them show up in my garden.
The presence of our little self sown tomatoes reminds me of how we like to rip out and rearrange everything so that it fits in with our idea of how it should be, in preference to allowing life to show up in its natural state and to work with what comes to pass.
Bloom where we are planted. The natural world knows how to access this phenomenon, its we humans who struggle with wanting everything our way in our time or else.
Let’s not be under any illusion that if we had not nurtured the tiny tomato plants and protected them a little, they would almost certainly not have survived the dry spell of weather in their early lives.
Unlike our little plants, perhaps you were not well protected or nurtured in your younger years either or to the contrary you had an idyllic childhood with model parents, either way both have shaped the person you are now.
All each of us need is an opportunity to nourish our soul so that we can bloom,  grow beautiful and strong too like the little tomatoes.
They are not magnificent roses or luscious orchids they are tomatoes, and tomatoes are beautiful gifts of life to us. 
From fresh juicy tomatoes we can make so many delectable dishes and in some cultures the tomato is a staple fruit that feeds families and brings bounty to the grower.
Like the humble little tomato, you are made of stardust and are as ancient as dirt. 
Never underestimate how important your life is firstly to yourself and then to the universe which you inhabit. Your seeds weren’t developed here on Earth. They were created in the cosmos along with everything that is and made manifest here as the divine being you are today.
Why do we find it hard to remember our magnificently humble beginnings? I believe it is because our earthly experience dulls our true identity and we forget that we are made up a of spiritual DNA that does not die when we leave our body. Quite the contrary, it continues with us from life time to life time awaiting our attention.  Our trials and tribulations are what bring our attention to focus on the possibility that we are more than just flesh and bone. 
Norman Vincent Peale is quoted as saying, “ Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”
If you are anything like I was recently you may have no idea what you want to do or how to find your way forward. Desperation and despair were my constant traveling companions for months until I finally surrendered and allowed my spiritual DNA to have its way.
There are some things my spiritual DNA is designed to do and there are others that it is diametrically opposed to.  It appears I was trying to go backwards up a raging swollen fast flowing river at least that is how it felt at the time. Now when I get the jitters about truly being a living expression of my authentic self, I find I am back in the raging tide of dirty water, a place I have no wish to be, so I surrender again and remember who I am and in no time I am back on solid ground, allowing the words and ideas to flow through me and onto the page.
Last year I had a vivid dream, you know the ones you remember every single thing that you did in them and the feeling is as real to you now as it was when you were in it. Well, mine was a flying dream. I NEVER forget my flying dreams.
I was standing on the edge of a precipice looking out over the vast terrain below and without warning I was walking back from the edge and then running at it with all my might to find myself not falling to my death, on the contrary, I was flying off towards the sun with my arms spread wide and my body stretched like a phoenix. 
After flying around for an undetermined amount of time enjoying the vista I was back on the edge of the precipice to once again run and fly off the edge taking to the air and circling the terrain below.
Again I was back on the edge only this time my brain had kicked in and instead of allowing my body to alight from the cliff top I screeched to a halt with only enough time to save myself from falling to my death. My heart was pounding out of my chest with fright as I realized that I had lost faith in my ability to fly, acquiescing to fear. Then deep disappointment took over from my fear and I stepped back again from the edge only this time to run without hesitation, launching myself off the edge with no thought for the outcome. My disgust at disappointing myself was greater than my fear of ending my life.
When love for ourselves and our dreams becomes greater than our fear of judgement or failure, then and only then will we find our wings and launch ourselves off the precipice of our life’s edge out into the glory of the lives we were born to live.
You planted yourself here however many years ago and whatever your life so far you are still here just like my tomato plants. This means that you are doing something right.
I know you have probably heard this so many times so here it is again… don’t wait to do the important things in your life.
Don’t wait until you have a new job or a partner or more money or enough money or to be skinnier or brighter or your children grow up or the planets are aligned a certain way. By constantly putting your dreams into the future you are missing out on wonderful opportunities to kick start them in the now.
It's time to see how magical this life you are living truly is. How when you take small steps towards your dream or goal, you will become the change that you have been wishing for. Every tiny step you take is a statement of commitment of your intention to bring into being something that has up until that point been only a dream or desire.
The moment you take action your intentions become manifest, your thoughts and dreams ignite and come into being.
Begin with one step whatever that may be and build on it. Love and nurture yourself as you take each step. Be your own best friend.
 My word for 2016 was Maitri a Sanskrit word translated as unconditional friendship with oneself.
I was searching for a word which would embody my intention and learning for 2016 to follow on from Authentic which was my word for 2015.
Maitri found me while I was reading a book by Pema Chodron entitled When Things Fall Apart. The title alone was enough to draw me into its pages where I discovered the word Maitri. 
The purpose is to hold the intention of the word for the year, this is not without its challenges.
I have found that it attracts opportunities to me to grow and invites change in a way I could never imagine.
Change takes place when  your desire to have something is greater than your fear of it.
This desire began within you before you came into being here and our desire to be here was greater than the sum of all possible outcomes good, bad or otherwise.
Our little tomato plants didn’t think about being judged or not being good enough or even about their survival they were just programmed to burst out of their seed pods, make a break for the light and on arrival, make the most of whatever was up there while still being tomato plants, and so did you. 
Make a break for the light and keep shining brightly.

We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For is the title and final line of a piece of powerful wisdom by Thomas Banyacya Sr. (1910-1999); Speaker of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote Clan Elder of the Hopi Nation. (see end of blog)
 
When I read his words I feel a resonance deep inside me as if I have been spoken to by something very ancient and powerful. The words speak to me across time and space as if I was calling to myself from all my lifetimes, to remember why I had been born, lived and died, and why I am here now.
To incarnate here is a courageous decision made and acted upon by all of us. It is one of many leaps of faith we consciously make along the path of our souls journey.
Why do we make this journey you may ask? Because we can. Because it is how we learn and grow. Each day of our lives is an act or courage and determination.
I know now that I was going to need a lot of courage to live this life I had chosen.  It would take everything I could muster to get through the early years and what got me there was my dream of a better life.

I dreamed of a time when there would be no more abuse of power over children. Where children had a voice. I dreamed of a world where abuse of children by those who had power over them was no longer acceptable and that those who chose to prey on the innocent would be brought to justice. That time has come as we witness the bringing to the light of the abuse of the children and the world is horrified and so it should be.
​
I dreamed of a time that would allow myself and other like-minded souls the freedom to embrace our spiritual beliefs without fear of death or persecution. I dreamed of a world where there was equality of opportunity for everyone. A world where we are free to express our true selves without fear of reprisal. This is a work is progress with huge inroads being made around the globe. Long may it continue.

Change is about our willingness to want a better life. A more healthy happy and spiritual life. It is being more consciousness of our intentions, how we act upon them and how that affects consciousness of all that is.
It is challenging enough to get through each day but to affect change we must step up another notch and live with passion, act with purpose and be mindful of our thoughts and feeling and conscious of our intentions before we act upon them. 
For every action there is a consequence. The intention behind that action will determine the outcome of the consequence. Some call this Karma. The law of cause and effect. But that subject is for another time. I want to leave this world a better place than I found it. For me leaving this world a better place when I depart, is not just about a clean green earth free from pollution, it is about how I lived this life and the impact my actions and intentions had on all things I come in contact with.  
I've had to do a lot of soul searching for my actions have not always been saintly. I have hurt others by my selfish fear filled ways.
 
I believe in reincarnation, that I have lived before this lifetime and that I will live beyond this one. Maybe in all our lifetimes, our desire for change caused us to act in some way that has brought about the changes in this one.  I hope so.

I want to leave behind a world where we more aware of each other. Where we take responsibility for ourselves. Where we don’t have to compete with each other for power and use our power with love as opposed to our power without love. Both are equally powerful. That to me is a sign of spiritual maturity.
I am heartened by the opening of our hearts and minds to the infinite possibilities that are available to us as we see ourselves and each other as souls on a journey together through time and space.
I am so pleased that what I could only dream of has in most part become a reality. It was all worth it. 

There is no better time or place than now to embrace our spirituality in our own unique way. There is still so much more to do.
We must seize the day. We are the idea whose time has come and we shouldn’t hold back from the pursuit of our truth… that we are spirit being human and that we have lived before in many times and places and will continue to do so.  We are our own ancestors and will become our descendants.  That no one sits in judgement of us when we die, and that our natural state is love, peace, joy and forgiveness. That was on display in abundance in the past days in my home city, Christchurch New Zealand  as we responded to the mass shootings at our local mosques. The good shone through thousands of people sharing their love and support of the Muslim families who had lost loved ones and cared for their injured.
I believe we don't have to go through anyone to find God or The Is or whatever name you may give the divine consciousness to which we all belong; we are already in direct contact with whomever we need to help us on our journey.
There are no need for trappings to express our divinity, we are all we need. Our arrival into the earth plane was humble. The only physical trapping we had was our body and we leave that behind when we depart. What we do leave is our imprint on everyone and everything we come in contact with.
 
Since we first took shape on the Earth plane, when faced with adversity and strife, we dreamed of a time when that will not be so. Acts of power without love are no longer acceptable in our family, our community, country or the world at large. If enough people become willing to be open minded and raise their awareness of themselves and others, then change will happen without violence or force.
All it takes is one person to ignite the flame and then pass it to others who have the courage to light a torch from it and pass it on to others with love, hope and faith.
It is time to stand in our power and embrace the lives we have chosen to live for We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting for. We are the voices and hearts of those who can bring about change. It is never too late to make a difference. ©Olwynne Cade 2016
 
​Keep shining brightly.
Olwynne Cade