FOO ~ Family of Origin.  The past 7 years or so a flock of about 40 Evening Grosbeak have been coming to my yard in the waning of the winter days.  Eagerly I awaited their arrival this year.  They didn’t return like usual until nearly half-way through spring.  Their entrance was  marked by their sharp loud calls and low whistling trill, waking me early one Saturday morning.  I was thrilled to see them back at the feeders, bickering with one another for position and the promise of sunflower seeds.  And I knew there was more, and new, work to do.

Grosbeak medicine teaches about family of origin matters, about healing the family heart.  What is it I need to learn this year?  What FOO issues will rise to the surface to be looked at, potentially healed or rejected?  What is in my heart to be cleared and allowed to be truth (with a capital T) in this new year of Grosbeak medicine?  I’ve got three sisters.  We don’t bicker but we don’t actually talk much either.  What holds me back from engaging with them?  Am I showing up?  What is it that leads me to retreat into the margins?  Am I willing to show myself for who I truly am?  Can I take a stand for myself within the dynamics of my family, shifting into a higher truth?  Can I share the seeds at the feeder so we are all nourished?  How can I heal the family heart by healing myself?

So many questions.  And now the Black-headed Grosbeak have arrived too, singing the most melodious song.  There are reminding me there is beauty in the FOO and my heart holds them.

I love you Dad.  I love you Mary.  I love you Patrice.  I love you Sandy.