On our way home from an early morning walk, a weary "gardener", half-dead, laid out in the sunlit road. The lowly earthworm slightly lifted his head off the hot pavement, and in an unexplainable instant of oneness, I quickly reached down and lifted it up in my bare hands. An act that surprised me as I cupped it in my hand and walked on.
Elliot had watched, wondering what was I doing? He thought the worm was dead. But I walked on, affirming it was alive; I'd seen him look up when we passed by.
Walking fast, when we came closer towards home, a happy pulse wriggled in my cupped hand, tickling my palm with life. A worm was one of the first gardeners, and my wayward gardener friend soon had a new home in a large planter of marigolds in the Marian Butterfly Garden.
Curious, I dug around to learn more. An earthworm has some short bristles on each segment. These help it move through the dirt. The bristles need to push against something in order to move. That's the reason the worm can't move on a pane of glass.
My encounter with the earthworm was not by chance. It turns out, an earthworm brings a message to rework old ground. To review what we've experienced, examining and digesting what has happened in life. Then we can decide what to cast off as no longer beneficial, or purposeful. This will let in fresh air and open us to new growth.
Earthworm often shows up in times of turmoil, and we feel the need to be alone. A reminder to take stock before making another decision, and not react too hastily. Any sorrows occurring, any breakups in the soil of our life are essential to our future growth even though turmoil may be hard. Be sure to work on the old thoroughly before moving on to the new.
I was thankful for the earthworm message that taught me--to get beyond my fears and do what I can in the immediacy of the now to help another in need.
It's comforting to know that we are always in the presence of God's angels. And God speaks to us in many surprising ways to teach us what we need to learn and grow in spirit. To teach only love...
Love and peace,
Rae Karen
(Ref. Ted Andrews, Animal-Wise Tarot)
