A COMMUNITY OF BEES
March 5, 2005
It was summertime in Phoenix, a time when daytime movement is slower, and activity is more during the cooler hours of the night. I was out running errands in preparation for an upcoming Intensive in Hawaii. Relief from the heat came in anticipation of the refreshing feeling of saltwater on my face. I arrived home and began pulling up into the driveway and opening the garage door. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a bump on the tree in the front yard. I gave it no further thought, drove into the garage, and closed the door.
When my family and I first moved into the house in Phoenix, there was a huge thirty foot Cottonwood tree in the front yard. As our bodies were still acclimating to the desert heat, we were thankful for the shade Cottonwood provided to the two front bedrooms each summer. Each fall, even though it did not freeze in the desert, the leaves would drop. The winds always seemed to arrive just in time to swirl the colorful leaves around the front door and throughout the neighborhood.
One year, about four years prior to the time of this story, during the fierce winds of the late summer monsoon season, I heard a loud crash. I ran outside to see the Cottonwood lying on its side. It had come up from the ground, roots still attached, and had fallen across the yard. It seemed the shallow root system of the Cottonwood family did not blend well with the desert monsoons. Our Cottonwood had made room for a new tree, one that could better connect with the Tree Kingdom.
We replaced the Cottonwood with a young Mesquite tree. Mesquite tree seemed much more suited to the desert. It grew several feet each year. Often, when I would ask if it needed water, it explained to me that it had learned how to adapt to its climate and did not need as much water as I thought it needed. And, whenever I went out to commune with Mesquite, a breeze would stir and its long drooping leaves would brush my face, as if to say, “Hello.” I learned from this young Mesquite that the Tree Kingdom had learned to work in harmony and communion with earth’s elements. Gladly, Mesquite shared what it knew about managing water with the other vegetation in my garden, front and back. On the day of this story, it was on the young Mesquite that I had noticed the bump in one of its lower joints as I drove up into the garage.
Not soon after arriving home, I went to one of the front bedrooms that we had converted into an office. As I glanced out of the window there I noticed that bump again on the Mesquite. This time I moved to take a closer look. As my eyes adjusted their focus, I saw the bump move. There, in the Mesquite, was a community of bees. Hundreds of bees were busily moving around their community.
My mind quickly darted to the next morning when the school children would be waiting for the school bus at the end of front yard, less than 10 feet from the community of bees. Curious children have been known to tease the bees in our neighborhood. The bees have been known to fight back. Before I knew it, I had grabbed the yellow pages and was looking for a pest removal service. I justified my actions with the thought, “I’ll find an organic one.”
I did find a natural pest removal service. I called the owner and spoke with him about the bees. We brought the bees to this continent, he explained. They are here, so we have to learn to live with them. He assured me that my bees were on a journey and had just come to rest for the night. They would be gone the next day. He offered that I could call another bee removal service, and they would come in all their gear and smoke the bees dead, if that is what I wanted.
Of course, that was not what I wanted. I was scared by such a large number of bees. Calmed by the conversation with the man who seemed to understand our need to work with the critters around us, I recalled my delight with the one or two bees that often came while I was working in my garden. When I began my conscious ascension work, I found it very therapeutic to work in my garden. When we were working on removing the old consensus from our field, I began removing the old dead grass in the backyard. I remembered the one bee that would always come around to chat as I was sat on the ground, pulling at the dead grass. During one visit, bee asked if I would plant some flowering shrubs to help in support of the nearby bees. Anxious to oblige, I found some native flower seeds, morning primrose plants, flowering thyme. In the sun, the bees seemed to enjoy the smell and nectar from these flowers and plants.
On this day, as I remembered my conversations with the bees in my yard, my fear subsided. And, it wasn’t long before I became fascinated as I watched the community of bees on the Mesquite tree in my front yard. I wondered how they could maintain their clump, all holding on upside down under the lowest branch of the tree. Each individual bee seemed to understand just where it needed to move in order to maintain the balance of the group. Without a lot of fanfare, each bee would move just to the right place. In the evening the community was shaped in a long, thin cone. And by morning, the shape was more short and flat.
I shared the story of the community of bees at the intensive. Mila explained the bees represented the new flow of unity that we were anchoring. It is a flow that moves in and around, surrounding each in the community, providing a more authentic unity for the group.
When I returned from the intensive, I looked out the window again at the Mesquite tree. I remembered the visit from the bees. I thanked Bee Kingdom for this wonderful gift of community—this communion in unity. And I felt lucky for having the experience. And Bee Kingdom explained why they had offered such a gift. “Remember,” they said “when you planted the flowers to give us nectar? This community of bees was our gift back to you.”
What a wonderful example of unity and community is there for us to see. And we don’t need to go any further than our own backyard.
Namaste
Sherry Stapleton
About Sherry Stapleton: Early in my ascension journey, I began to explore the desert in which I live in Arizona. I was amazed at the diversity of life that is able to flourish here. I soon found that my backyard was a great place to bring my ascension into the physical. When I was releasing old consensus patterning, I was also pulling up all the old grass and planting new seed. When I was learning to ground to earth's aurora, I was also planting new trees, placing their roots deep into the soil. When I was searching for understanding of the mirrors presented by my family, I began to study the birds. Five or six or more species visit my backyard. They began to show me how I relate to my family and my personal patterning needing to be released. I am deeply grateful to all the nature kingdoms that assist me in understanding my lessons. I honor them and their journeys.
Recently I have relocated to Idaho and am finding a wonderful connection to nature through the mountains and pine trees of this region. I am guided by earth now to produce ascending herbal tinctures. I am also available for telephone consultations. You can set up an appointment by sending an email to newdream@adelphia.net.
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