TAROT IN THE WILD: 37
Green hearts. So many of us.
On Tuesday, I took a lovely morning stroll through Washington Square Park, a short walk from my home, to connect with kin.
My plant-world kin, that is.
“You have so many,” they had told me in a friendly tone. “So many of us.”
Actually, this trip was a revisit. The previous morning, I’d been through the park on a birding walk. No unusual migrating birds stirred for us that day, just the park regulars, including a Red-tailed hawk relentlessly mobbed by a smaller kestrel, a mockingbird, and a blue jay.
As we slowly walked the paths, I found my attention drawn less to the leafy branches than the lush greenery on either side of us. A recent abundance of rain had blessed the trees and plants. Spring light shone on them gloriously, and I was mesmerized.
If you’ve been reading this Substack, you know who I am. I’m the out-and-proud animist who lovingly talks to clouds, to rain, to planets in the predawn sky.
During the birding walk, I kept my phone in my backpack. (It was enough to juggle binoculars, notebook, and pen.) But I listened carefully and heard the invitation to return another time and bring the phone out—just for photos of the plants. I’m grateful for that.
Leaving for home, I walked by a woman sitting next to a man on a bench. At that very moment, she spoke to him, saying:
“The flowers on the table said, ‘Open your heart.’”
I heard, kept walking, smiled to myself.
These words could have meant anything to her. Perhaps I’d caught her reciting a line of dialogue from a play. Her delivery and warm tone did sound a bit theatrical.
But the timing, my friends. Exquisite.
She’d clearly spoken aloud the message the plant spirits held for me.
There are so many of us. And we love you, too.
Open your heart.
I love this so much, Eva! Every morning when I go outside to feed the birds I greet everybody, and I’m learning to listen and hear when they reply.
Gorgeous. You brought that experience to life here. I could just hear the green ones talking to you. And the perfectly timed reminder from the flowers, spoken through a stranger on a bench - beautiful!