The Birth of Love Health Om – Part Two
The Connected Meaning of the Ensō and Tree of Life
You know the story of my tattoo that became my Love Health Om logo…or perhaps it’s my Love Health Om logo that became my tattoo. ;) More than just the duality significance of the ensō, there is the tree enveloped inside the ensō.
Long before I ever stumbled upon the ensō image online, I was often drawn to the Tree of Life imbued in many spiritual and cultural beliefs from Kabbalah and Buddhism to Nordic and Celtic traditions. This seemed to be the mother of all symbolism, made for me, when I discovered the ensō and Tree of Life as one. You see, I had held deep respect for the Tree of Life symbol for many years prior to discovering the ensō, turning to it for wisdom in turbulent times. While not the traditional “tree” depicted as the Tree of Life, it’s not the appearance of the “tree” that is significant, but the meaning.
Trees represent the totality of existence and the interconnection of absolutely everything from the branches to the roots. EVERYTHING is connected from Earth, Tree to Sky. Trees accept nourishment from Mother Earth via deep roots, and also Father Sun through the leaves reaching to the sky.
A mentor once explained that your ability to reach high to the heavens is relative to how deep your roots are. True.
Everything in life is in harmony and balance.
How can I know the unrestrained latitude of joy unless I’ve also looked at my own despair straight in the eye and felt its searing pain? Moreover, those roots are developed and strengthened by our ability to dig deep within ourselves during the worst of life’s hardships and receive the blessings even suffering has to bring.
We are all immutably intertwined to each other and the world around us. Consequently, we are dependent on the world and each other from the most basic of needs, to the very expansion of our consciousness.
After all, nothing exists in a vacuum.
Whether we resist it or surrender to it, a fully elevated and flourishing life depends on both other people and our environment.
The Tree of Life also heralds growth and immortality significance.
Trees start as a seedling, with small, thin branches and shallow roots. Over time, these roots widen in strength, and reach deeper into the Earth receiving nourishment and the foundation to weather storms. The buds and branches multiply and ascend higher to the sun for energy. Like the tree, the “weather” of our lives shapes us and causes us to grow, deepen, and fortify.
We strive for knowledge as growth is in our very fiber, not stagnation.
Nature is the same. Nature does not stagnate…ever.
In every moment of every day, nature is in melody and harmony with the environment and the seasons, not in a battle. There is movement according to the flow of life. Fall and Winter bring about a letting go that appearsas degeneration. In fact, “fall” is a misnomer because the leaves are actually being pushed off the branches by the tree, so it can survive the winter!
Appearances are deceptive. The tree is conserving energy so as to ensure it’s survival and flourish in the Spring.
Where does this metaphor apply in my life, or yours?
What must I let go of so I can continue to thrive and create more life, joy, and contribution?
What must I say “no” to and conserve my energy so my giving is more impactful and focused on the areas I deem most important?
Where must I surrender to the flow of my life so that I become a channel of divine purpose?
Our lives have seasons too, don’t you think? Even our weeks have a “season” with Monday being Winter, Wednesday it’s Spring, and by Saturday it’s Summer.
No one can stay in Summer all the time. It takes a lot of energy to constantly be producing life and giving. Everything needs balance. Going inward, engaging in self-reflection, receiving help, guidance and love from others, is the fuel that allows us to grow.
Likewise, staying “safe” and shallow, avoiding challenges, continuing in our self-righteousness that “it’s not me” doesn’t cause us to reach deeper into the “soil” of life to learn and grow from the lesson. This is how we ground ourselves deeply, simultaneously stretching up far for the Heavens, better prepared, and wiser, to weather the next storm.
This is the essence and foundation for Love Health Om.
We are all on this grand voyage called life, and being summoned every day to meet the challenges presented to us. It beckons us to grow and raise our own consciousness, to be that example of possibility, not perfection.
Both the ensō and the Tree of Life invite us to contemplate the duality within us, the dark and the light, the parts of ourselves we want to bury and those we want to immortalize.
Yet, the two are inseparable and interdependent. For to “know” the light, we must contrast it against the dark.
Love Health Om is, at the core, a weaving account of my own spiritual journey. It is also a place to commune and converse about a variety of topics, including Love in all forms: relationships, parenting, hobbies, art, self care, and more. It’s a place to share ideas and information on what promotes a healthy mind, body, heart and planet.
On my own journey, I’ve harmed my body and health. I’ve given up my own identity thinking that was “love”. I’ve struggled to reconcile healthy boundaries vs selfishness, and I could go on.... These broader topics of Love and Health have intimately played lead roles in my ability to ascend on my spiritual journey, the Om aspect.
This is the story of my self-discovery to love, heal and find peace for my own good, so that the ripple touches my family, friends, community and the planet. After all, you cannot give what you do not have, so start with YOU.
Perhaps you’ll connect to some of my stories and struggles, perhaps not.
Perhaps you’ll attain a new insight that shifts a belief or perspective that was unknowingly a source of persistent friction in your life. Perhaps you simply enjoy visiting Love Health Om, and you don’t know why or for what purpose.
You are all welcome here.
My wish is to share my stories…the joyous, the treacherous, the blessings, the painful. With them come nuggets of wisdom as I reflect deeply on my life, and seek meaning. I hope you enjoy Love Health Om, and perhaps even find pearls of understanding that can better your life too.
Thank you for being here.