Dear Friend,
The pomegranates are bursting open here in Ojai. They begin as bright red, waxy little flowers that eventually grow into round, heavy fruits. And when they're left on the tree long enough, their skins split open, revealing hundreds of beautiful ruby-colored jewels inside.
One of my clients recently gave me an entire grocery bag full of pomegranates, and I've been eating one every day. There's something so satisfying about breaking one open and gently loosening the little gems from their chambers. They're refreshing, delicious, and almost impossibly beautiful.
The pomegranate has long been associated with the Greek myth of Persephone, who was taken into the underworld by Hades. When she was finally allowed to return to her mother, Demeter, the pomegranate seeds she had eaten bound her to the underworld for part of each year. Her annual descent and return became part of the ancient explanation for the changing seasons.
I love the symbolism of this story, especially at this time of year. As autumn deepens and the days grow shorter, the natural world begins turning inward. And perhaps we're being invited to do the same.
When I think about descending into myself, I think about visiting the deepest, most tender parts of who I am. The places where I keep my hopes and dreams, my worries, and the things I long for but don't always dare to speak aloud. These are the parts of myself I hold close, sometimes because they're so precious that I don't want them trampled on.
I think we all have places like this inside us. And while it can feel vulnerable to explore them, there's so much richness waiting there.
I've found that every time life has taken me through a difficult or dark passage, I've come away knowing something more about myself. Not necessarily because I wanted to go there, but because there were things I couldn't have discovered any other way.
Perhaps that's one of the gifts of this season. An invitation to turn away from the noise of the outside world for a little while and become curious about what's happening within.
Like the pomegranate, we hold entire worlds beneath the surface. Beautiful, complicated, sometimes messy, and full of things worth discovering.
May you find the courage to visit those tender places within yourself, and the gentleness to receive whatever you find there.
With love,
Carrie
