Gift from the Bees

In my recent Drawn to Bees workshop 🐝we focused on seeing and experience nature more deeply through our nature journals.

This was time to help you be in the moment, have open-hearted awareness to see beyond what’s physically there, and tune into the wisdom of bees.

Drawing to See

We practiced drawing to see- bees more closely.

With simple contour and gesture sketches we marveled at their amazing bodies close up, and at how they live and make honey.

We became aware of how these tiny creatures are intricately connected to us.

Bees are one part of a big process.

🐝The sun and rain gives the gift of light and water to help the plants grow and reproduce.

🐝The flowers offer the gifts of sweet nectar and nutritious pollen to the bees for their nourishment and babies (larvae).

🐝Bees take the nectar into their bodies where it mixes with special enzymes. The bees fastidiously fan their wings to evaporate this liquid into honey.

The gift of honey 🍯, sweet, healing and nutritious medicine.

The gifts of 🌸flowers for enjoyment and sustenance.

The gifts of fruits 🍎 and vegetables 🥦, nuts and seeds 🌻

Even though we must grow and tend to the plants, we wouldn’t get the gifts without their work.

🐝We are interconnected- interdependent.

So now, here’s a question:

What do you do when you receive this gift 🎁?

How do you receive it? With gratitude or without a thought?

What do you offer in return, to reciprocate?

I invite you to reflect how you could reciprocate, and express gratitude. Write your ideas down.

Perhaps it’s:

• silent thank you when you see a bee or when you enjoy fresh food

• Replace pesticides with natural solutions

• and encouraging a chemical-free neighborhood

• growing bee-friendly plants

• providing shallow water dishes

• Or learning more about bees and their lifestyle

• Sharing with others

How will you take action to cultivate an awareness and appreciation for bees??

Take a moment to make a list.

What’s one thing you can do today?

Now, for part 2- to dive a little deeper into the unspoken wisdom of nature:

Nature is always speaking to us, showing us things that can guide us in our lives. But we must be listening for it. And sometimes you may find that message to be relevant in your life today— it shows you a mirror to something in your life.

💛Think about Bees for a moment. Close your eyes and remember the times you’ve seen them.

💛What characteristics or qualities come to mind?

What words or phrases do bees remind you of?

💛Make a list now.

maybe you have words like this too.

• Buzzing,

• Hard work,

• collaborate,

• sisterhood, females

• giving,

• generous,

• industrious,

• cooperate,

• depending on each other, working as a team,

• they can sting,

• they make sweet honey and bees wax

💛Quietly look over you list. What words stand out to you? Which words just “pop” or give you a feeling more than others?

💛Circle those. It could be 1 or 2 or 3….

💛Now, what do you feel about those words? How are those words working in your life? Maybe you need more of it? Or less of it? Or perhaps just reflecting on it.

What else do they remind you of?

💛Write out what thoughts come to mind.

Here are a few words that bubbled up to the surface for me:

💚COOPERATE- how can you bring this into your life?

• Cooperate with your community members?

• With your family or other relationships?

• Where can you identify the common goal and work together?

💚And STING: What is painful?

• What were you doing when the sting happened?

• Is there anything stinging or painful in your life?

• What awareness comes up around this sting?

• Do you need to let go of a particular pain?

• Remember that a sting is temporary. But we can prolong the pain and suffering

💚And SWEET. Where is there sweetness in your life?

• The sweet can often get overshadowed, and we lose sight of it.

• What things represent sweet, or positive in your life today?

• Can you find the sweet even if the situation is stinging or negative?

• Look for the sweet- look for joy and gratitude. Let the sweet wash over you

So in summary, on this day, BEES said-🐝

💛Cooperate with other humans, find common ground and work with gratitude and kindness.

When life stings you, look for the sweetness.

There is more sweet than sting in a bee— and in you, and in life.

We just need to look for it!

I’d love to hear what bubbles up into your awareness around this process.

If you want to participate in the workshop to practice Drawing to See and nature journaling bee wisdom with me, it is now a self-paced course, Drawn to Bees you can purchase it below

Save my seat in Drawn to Bees

Spark Collective members will have free access. You see about member benefits and try a free trial here,