HARMONY IN HIVES: Nurturing Dreams, Books, Bees, and Spirituality
Hello, and welcome back to my Amatory Garden!
You feel that, right? Spring is definitely in the air. My apiary is abuzz with hundreds of new foragers taking their first orientation flights. And I’m also abuzz with excitement for new adventures in 2024!
I’m really glad you’re here, too. Thank you for joining me in the Amatory Garden today. How’ve you been doing? I hope you’ve been well. I’ve been doing pretty good. Been doing a lot of meditating and really thinking about stuff, you know? Family stuff, work stuff. Sexy stuff. Bee stuff.
Ooo! Speaking of ‘bee stuff:’ Let me just say—Woo-hoo! Because all my colonies have officially survived the winter! As usual, it’s been cold, wet, and windy here in Northern California these last few months, but despite those odds, we did it! Not only did my bees survive, they are actually thriving, and so I couldn’t be more excited for the coming nectar flow! It was even warm enough to do inspections between rainstorms the other day. I’m also tickled to report that the queens I raised last year are still present; they’re plump and actively laying eggs! So, I am definitely going to continue raising my own queens. So far, I am sitting pretty with a stock of sturdy genetics. And, speaking of ‘sturdy stock,’ the fruit trees in my backyard are starting to bud—many trees in the neighborhood are already poppin’ off, as the kids like to say, so now might be a good time for you to remember to stock up on allergy pills.
Anyways, yeah, here we are. Already past the midway point of February, if you can believe it. Is the new year still treating you well? You sticking to your resolutions? One of my resolutions was to start developing motivational slogans every New Year. After careful thought, the motto for this year is Restore In ’24. I also set a goal to officially make meditation a regular part of my day-to-day, and I have to say that it’s been going surprisingly well. The picture above is actually inspired by a meditation session I had a while back. I’d had my calendar out and all my colored pens and was trying to organize to-do lists and monthly tasks that needed to get done, but before I knew it, all the things I wanted to do and all the things I needed to do started competing for time on the calendar. Pretty soon, my head was just too full of noise. So, I put my calendar and pens away and got into the shower for some much-needed quiet time.
I sat under the shower’s hot spray for a while and then decided to meditate on my scheduling problem. Pretty quickly, in my mind’s eye, I saw myself as this way too busy beehive, and all my wants and needs were erratically swarming angry bees. They zipped in and out of my mouth, and I felt stressed. Stymied. So stuck. I stayed in the shower for about an hour until the number of bees went way down. Eventually, only four bees were left, and they flew very differently than the others. They went in and out of my mouth casually, in a single file. These bees were so calm and I could tell that they didn’t want to leave this hive that was me. And then, an exciting thing happened. The bees revealed their names. They were Book, Bee, Dream, and Spirituality. Anyway, I came out of that session feeling way more sure about my scheduling problem, and I totally knew why.
So, in 2024, I’m working on balancing my work schedule and nurturing my hive needs. I’m nurturing those four bees. But I’m starting slowly—old habits are tough to break. I began by setting new alarms on my phone. I gave them all new names, new times, and different tones to help me transition better from one task to another. And if I can’t complete a task when that timer goes off, I tell myself it’s okay. I’ll get to it tomorrow.
To satisfy the bee that had called itself Book, I’m nurturing that need within myself by reestablishing the routine of reading before bed. Eventually, I’ll work up to posting book reviews, too, but I’m keeping things simple right now. Doable. I just want the reading to become a habit, which is always excellent fuel for a good writing routine.
As for the bee named Bee, instead of rushing through hive inspections to get to other non-bee-related things that are piled into my day, I’m reminding myself that Fridays are strictly my #BeeDay. The whole day. From when I wake up to when I go back to bed, the bees are #1.
Over at the KMQ podcast, I’m already nurturing the Dream bee by reading entries from my dream journals, and it’s been a rewarding experience. Revisiting the journals feels like I’m traveling in a time machine, and when I turn their pages, this warm, giddy, invigorating sensation bubbles up inside of me. I’m sure that #LuridListeners can tell I’m smiling during those podcast episodes. It just feels like all my erotic dreams are finally getting life breathed back into them, and I really couldn’t be happier. It was totally the right move to make for The Kiss Me Quick’s podcast. #DreamTime is a major part of my erotic self and my writer self, and I feel like the audience there is getting to see the whole me. And that feels really good.
And, finally, as for that Spirituality bee, well, I’m definitely sticking with meditation. I do forget to meditate some days, but I’m practicing almost every day. The benefit of having space and time to connect or plug into yourself is immeasurable. If you want to start meditating, there may be some trial and error. Finding the right style was hard for me. I actually stumbled upon a version of meditation that I discovered in a book I was reading for research about green witches of all things, and I really must say, I’m shocked to find that it seems to do the trick. Maybe there’s something else there for me too—within Paganism and the green witch way—but I’m not rushing into anything right now. I’ve always had an affinity for the natural world, and I’m interested in further exploring this type of spirituality, but it will have to wait. Right now, I know that it’s not the pentagrams, magic stones, or the spell-casting. Not the charms or potions, nor the gods and goddess.’ What calls to me is the connection to the natural elements around me—the ones I can see, taste, smell, and hear.
This year, I’m nurturing the parts that make me me. It’s only been a few months, but this new harmony within is nice. But it’s not all due to meditation. I’m telling you, it’s the honeybees. They keep showing up like little buzzing shamans guiding me on my path. They’ve also shown me that even though they are so well-organized and perfectly built for pollination and reproduction, they too can stumble in their quest for balance by getting themselves ‘honey-bound,’ for example, if they overdo their nectar storing. (This was another revelation that came while meditating, by the way. And it was the perfect time to highlight within myself that it’s okay to falter in my new pursuits as long as I continue striving for balance.) Afterall, I’m not meant to be all work and no play. I’ve always been way too free-spirited for that kind of lifestyle.
Much like a honeybee colony, my life is sometimes a whirlwind of tasks and commitments, leaving me to juggle way more than I can handle. And, honestly, if happiness truly is a choice, then so is slowing down, and making time for things that truly nurture us. This blog is where I intend to express the heart of my erotic joy. I’m feeding the essence of who I am—an eroticist. I’m recalibrating and reclaiming time and though my journey into meditation has only just begun, the transformative effects are already undeniable. I have this newfound sense of relief—of weight lifting from my shoulders. And that makes me excited to step into 2024.
Thank you for joining me for this little catch-up on the latest developments in my world. I’m looking forward to following the honeybees as they lead me towards more self-discovery, and I hope you’ll visit again, too. From embracing the grounding practice of meditation to reintroducing myself to the joys of the natural world and the spiritual connection it fosters, I’m dedicating myself to finding balance and nurturing harmony from within. From sharing my erotic dreams on the KMQ Podcast to reading new sexy books, I’m on a mission to cultivate joy, balance, and personal fulfillment.
I invite you to join me in this buzzing journey into 2024. Together, let’s explore the thrill of personal exploration and the joy of living a life that’s truly ours. Welcome back to my Amatory Garden—let’s make this year one of renewal, rediscovery, happiness, and abundant love for ourselves and the world.
Half for me, half for you,
Rose Caraway
