I invite you to close your eyes and find a comfortable seat and become aware of your breath,
Of the rise and fall of your belly and your chest with every breath that you take.
And as you breathe,
See if you can become connected to the breath of the earth herself.
How the trees of the earth are breathing in our exhale and exhaling out what we need to inhale.
How there is this dance of give and take between the greenery of the earth and your lungs and as you feel the expansion and contraction of your lungs,
Allow yourself to notice how your lungs are like the roots of the trees,
Spreading out into ever finer and finer fibers,
Collecting oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in the life-giving oxygen from the trees and breathing out a life-giving carbon dioxide to the trees.
An exchange of life.
An exchange of love.
And allow every breath you take to relax your body more and more.
To soften all of the muscles that hold you together so that even your limbs can open into the breath and the pores of your skin can soften like a sponge and soak in that life and release what is no longer necessary.
Beautiful.
Feel how just like every other dance of nature,
The waves of the ocean,
The wind rippling against barley and wheat,
The pumping of your heart.
This breath is a dance between you and the trees.
And for a moment,
Allow yourself to become like a tree.
Feel every part of you that is touching a surface below you to grow roots.
And feel those roots digging into the earth.
Down and down.
Finding crevices of softness in the soil.
Seeking out the waters of Torah and the nutrients of your rich history.
And as your roots deepen and descend further and further,
Allow yourself to feel branches emanating from the top of your body upwards and outwards.
Seeking light and reflecting that light.
Seeking light and reflecting that light.
So with one wave,
You dig deeper,
Pulling more nutrients of your history.
More waters from the Torah.
And take all of that into the trunk of your body.
Feel it nourishing you and strengthening you and expanding your capacity to hold goodness.
And truth.
And as those branches reach out further,
Feel your leaves soaking in the light of the divine.
And turning that light into life.
Into sweet fruit.
And into expansion.
And again,
Digging down and wide and deep.
And as you do so,
Reach out and far and expansively.
Both at the same time.
Of this earth and of the heavens as well.
And feel this nourishment from below meeting this light from above right in the center of your core.
Right in the center of your chest.
The place where heaven and earth kiss.
Where your body and soul meet.
And feel the strength that comes with being rooted below and expansive above.
As you meet the winds of history.
The tides of struggle.
The darkness of winter.
Feel that strength at your core.
That chooses to blossom in the coldest time of year.
This is what it is to be Israel.
To struggle with God.
And to overcome.
This is what it is to choose the beauty of the blossom over the darkness of evil.
And ask yourself,
How do I want to blossom this season?
What beautiful fragrance can I bring to the world?
What delicate color can I offer those around me?
And feel that light emanating from you now.
Smell that fragrance.
Experience that color.
Even as your roots go deeper and your branches expand further.
It is for these blossoms.
For this fragrance that you were created,
Precious one.
And remembering that you always have the capacity to come back to this moment.
Where your roots are deep and wide.
And your branches are ever expanding.
I invite you to return to the realm of space and time.
By wiggling your fingers and wiggling your toes.
And slowly batting your eyes open.
Ready to bless the world with your gaze.
