Tree Blessings at St Ina's

Today was the first of my tree blessings. They are an extension of my love for talking sticks, which I make from the driftwood at Cei Bach, New Quay. 

This driftwood is gifted to the sea by the fallen trees lining the banks of the river as it meanders through Llanina Woods. It gave me such comfort collecting the driftwood last Summer, bringing it home and creating talking sticks, used in Native American Culture to make space for a speaker to be heard, to be listened to, giving a voice to the beholder.

At the end of last Summer, I promised to return this year to thank the trees with Om Blessings and woven wool, in gratitude to the Earth for the mutualism of our symbiotic relationship to trees.

It made perfect sense for this first blessing of the year to be with my dear friend Caroline. It was she that set me on my love affair with wool. In the depth of my despair, following my sudden deafness, she visited me at home, taught me to crochet, left me with wool and a hook ... the rest, as they say, is history. 

Llanina holds spiritual significance for both of us. We dressed the chosen tree in woven wool and a silver leaf Om and then went to St.Ina Chapel.

 We read passages from Mission Praise to each other, wherever our pages opened, replacing the word Lord with Universe to recognise the multi-faith nature of spirituality. It was beautifully quiet and serene.

And then we meandered down to the Quay for afternoon tea overlooking the sea ... what could be more beautiful than to spend such an afternoon with a friend?