The Beginning Not The End

Today we have the seed case of the Sweet Chestnut. The tree it’s from grows in the hedge along the road we take to the railway crossing.

The seed case, lying here in the grass, is the sign of a job well done. All the effort that went into growing, putting out leaves, flowering, getting pollinated and finally producing this large spiky seed is over. The work is complete. The fruit of that labour lies here, before us.

Now, the world holds its breath. We wait for Spring. For new life to break forth from the seeds and start the new cycle.

Dr Edward Bach – in the 1930s – felt that Sweet Chestnut flower essence was for those who had reached the end. They had exhausted all their options. When interviewed they would say ‘I just don’t know what to do, now!’ Often, he noted, this was a sign that the end of a cycle had been reached – the darkest hour before the dawn – and the sufferer was about to experience a great awakening to a new life.

Art imitating nature, perhaps?