Seeds in Winter

The theme for today is "Seeds in Winter"

In a dark season, we know
the light is returning
   and things will soon grow again
but we have to wait.

Life lies hidden in the dark ground
seeds and roots with stored energy
waiting their time.

The darkness has different qualities
A fertile quiet space, open and mysterious
or the self-gripping stone or ice
   of covered pain and confusion.

Sometimes it feels good to enter
with enough awareness
into the painful, wordless, familiar places.
There's no map;  it's hard to navigate.

What allows the ice to melt or the stone to break?
Is it awareness?
A grace from outside?
Or the hidden power of seeds?

How may we speak of or cultivate these seeds?
We don't dig them up to look at them
   but make sure they are protected.
Name and acknowledge where they came from:
Planted by oneself or some other.
A wish,
a prayer,
an intention,
the realization of a possibility,
a necessity,
a hidden yearning.

Hidden seeds, do you sense their presence?