 |
| Pruned vines and the reminder. |
Ramon has finished pruning this morning. He always races himself, and this year is his fastest ever, helped by the lack of rain, for sure! Over the weekend we got half an inch of rain, which will make it easier for the next stage: tying the pruned canes.
Pruning has such meaning for me. The strongest canes are chosen, but only one or two, which determines not only this year’s fruit, but next year’s as well. The act involves a long term relationship, one of love of the vine, and we are so fortunate to have Ramon, who understands this.
So it is in our lives as well. Too much growth weakens us. (Perhaps also a lesson of Drought?) We have to prune back, make conscious decisions about the trajectory of our lives. That is where ego comes in, learning the correct way of working with larger forces over time to shape ourselves, to have some say in how we develop.
Many years ago I found a gnostic verse in the back of a book about Carl Jung’s Seven Sermons of the Dead. We had it cut into a piece of metal and staked it in our vineyard to remind us of the forces with which we work to be in partnership. It reads:
I am the vine which He
doth plant and cherish most.
The fruit which grows from me
is God the Holy Ghost.