"Pears cannot ripen alone. So we ripened together."
Meridel Le Sueur
When I moved into my “divorce condo,” that quote resonated so much I had it painted on my dining room wall. I also serendipitously found a gorgeous painting of pears that perfectly fit that space.
(I have searched for a photo of my dining room, but alas, no can find. But I did find my column I wrote about it in 2009 (https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/2009/07/16/kelly-epperson-pears-cannot-ripen/46338873007/).)
Pears ripen better when sitting on the counter next to other fruits.
When I divorced, I wrote:
“As with pears, so it goes with us humans.
I am formed and fine – and perhaps just sitting on the counter -- and now I need to mature. I need to become my fullest, greatest, true self.
To ripen is to develop, to evolve, to become fully grown. To do that, we need others along the way. It is the paradox of life that although we must grow alone as individuals, we also need to rely on each other in order to do so. We become our best individual self through the care and nurturing of others.
I pride myself on being independent and being the encourager of others. It has helped me tremendously in recent months to let down my guard and allow others to see that I need encouragement, too. In my process of ripening, I have been aided by those around me.
I now realize that I cannot ripen alone. We all ripen together.
Life, and ripening, is a process. We each must move forward and advance down our own unique path, but others, by forging their own way before us, make the journey easier.
We are all at different stages of our ripening.
In ripening together, we all become changed for the better.”
What I wrote all those years ago is really hitting home for me right now. It‘s time for another ripening together.
Let me announce: AccessSOUL Mind Body Spirit CENTER!
AccessSOUL is a name that came to me last year in a journal ritual. When we access Soul, answers, information, and guidance come. I was moved to buy the domain name and called to organize a mind body spirit expo.
People continue to ask when/where/what is next for AccessSOUL. There’s been a whole lot of other things swirling in life as well. I keep learning about surrender in new ways. Every level of surrender has opened up more magic and miracles.
I have stories about surrender and maybe later we can go there. Today, I simply want to announce: AccessSOUL Mind Body Spirit CENTER will have a physical location in Loves Park, sometime in September. (Believe me, I want to get in there right now! Patience is another “surrender” thing for me.)
This space will be home to weekly meditation gatherings, weekly metaphysical meetups, weekly movement, monthly sound healing, workshops, experiences, dinners, and so much more. AND we will have Mind Body Spirit MINI EXPOS EVERY MONTH!
This is all about RIPENING TOGETHER. A center for conscious community is a place for you to come as you are, and find out more about YOU, your true essence. When we have a deeper connection to our self and our soul, we navigate life differently.
I am over the moon grateful.
Stay tuned for the calendar of events to come.
Thanks for ripening along with me.
Much love,
Kelly
