the greening life

Hildegard of Bingen used this word:
 viriditas.

it means the greening life, the greening force.

darin and i took a Great Mystics of the World class (so rad) some years ago and Hildegard, a 12th century german Christian mystic and visionary, has remained with me.

especially her term, viriditas, which can translate to fecundity,

both personal and universal: it is greening, sprouting, life, growth.

(first paleta de coco of the season)

Hildegard wrote: "Men and women are the light green heart of the living fullness of nature. A direct connection exists between the heart of a person and all the elements of the cosmos."

She saw human beings as part of an organic and interrelated universe, like a great cosmic web, wherein everything we do affects everything and everyone else. Our own personal viriditas, our greening selves deep within, hold the power of creation and redemption. we see it in the world around us and we see it in others.



i have been thinking about this for the last week or two.

throughout all my activities during which sometimes my heart swells to a great richness i have always called Bliss. and other times that i feel the great weight of sadness that also fills the rivers and veins of the earth.
the opposite of viriditas is ariditas, a great aridity, a dryness and shriveling of spirit.
i choose the greening life.



for example, while finally mowing my rampant lawn (i use the word "lawn" loosely, stan calls it a sea of weeds which is much more appropriate)

up to my knees in thick jungly wet weeds that clogged the poor beast of a lawn mower every two minutes. pulling the cord so hard it frazzles and breaks, cranking her up, pushing forward with all my might, stepping back before the undergrowth chokes the blades, dancing backwards on my feet, pulling and pushing so taht my arms and legs and hips feel strong and i'm sore for days. it took four solid hours of sweaty work.

i felt good.

and i spared the poppies, which are rewarding me handsomely this week in their shocking abundant shaggy brilliant orange blooms.

opus autem verbi viriditas est

the work of the word is fecundity.

i think about hildegard in relation to those i love, to our language and the way it shapes understanding.

i thought about viriditas as i got ready for a little Cinco de Mayo party, surrounding myself with faces i love, food, and a green yard of weeds and insects and buzzing life. animals large and small...deer who come skipping through with their fuzzy antlers and a new baby fawn, my cats who spring and roll and sprint, birds who peck and pull and sing and build nests softened by our hairs.

even more than the blossoming, i love the greening time.

i see it everywhere, in the wild world and in people,

and it is like reading someone's heart on their face.

the light green heart of the living fullness of nature

in my billy-bobiss bounding -

in lovely and herbs and gifts -

(embroidered blouse from claire)

in fresh laundry, work, sunlight,

friends, love, the ever lengthening days, the greening force that "through the green fuse drives the flowers."

The soul is a like a wind that waves over herbs,

Is like the dew that moistens the grass

Is like the rain-soaked air that lets things grow.

In the same way you should radiate kindness

To all who are filled with longing.

Be a wind, helping those in need.

Be a dew, consoling the abandoned.

Be the rain-soaked air, giving heart to the weary,

Filling their hunger with instruction

By giving them your soul.

-Hildegard of Bingen, from Heilkunde

i hope that viriditas is blessing your lives and connecting you again and again to the world around us with a divine joy. looks like it's time for wordsworth next!