Happy Tu BiShvat!

Some wisdom on this new year of the trees from The 16th c Italian Kabbalist Menahem Azariah of Fano that might offer us all a little something on our own growth and change:

1/x thread

"Just as each grain of seed grows according to its fertile power, so too does each of these points....Just as a seed cannot grow to perfection as long as it maintains its original form-- growth coming only through decomposition... " +

— so these points could not become perfect configurations as long as they maintained their original form but only by shattering."

I mean, he's using the metaphor of the seed to talk about a Kabbalistic principle, here, yes, but I think this also teaches us something critical +

About ourselves. That is to say: in order for a seed to become something new—to grow into the tree, shrub or flower it was meant to be all along—it must change shape, change form. The pit must grow roots and let out sprouts.

In order to flourish, it has to be willing to crack open, and to cease existing in the same way it has all this time. This can be frightening, of course, and, sometimes, exhilarating as well.

Sometimes growth only comes by decomposition.

Sometimes it feels less like decomposition, and more like shattering.

Sometimes we have to let go of who we have been in order to make room for who we are becoming.

I want to bless you to be brave enough to let yourself sprout.