I'm an Acorn

"Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak!"


Early in the morning, when my son wakes from sleep, he'll mumble the most random things while he's coming out of his twilight sleep and most times I dismiss them and move on with the day we have ahead of us. 
This morning,what he said when he woke up made me pause - he said, "mom, you're an acorn" and rolled back over and fell asleep. 

An acorn... ok.  So, as we laid in bed, struggling to wake up for the day, I wondered - am I an acorn?  do i want to be an acorn?  my mind at this point didn't think of an acorn in a very positive way at all.  Acorns fall from oak trees, the lay around on the ground. Squirrels collect them for food... is that what I wanted to be?  Now, a squirrel, that seemed to be the way to go - a go-getter, busy, nimble, pro-active, social, playful, right?  That seemed to fit me better, so I thought!

I ventured on to work, and the thought of "mom, you're an acorn" kept rattling in my mind.  What did it mean when he said that?  What's it mean to be an acorn?  So, on to google I went....

-Druids believed that the acorn held special powers related to love and divination.  If two people placed an acorn into a bowl of water and the acorns floated together, it meant they were to be married.  If they drifted apart, they were not meant to be. 
-British folklore states that a person who carries an acorn in his pocket will remain youthful.
-During the Norman Conquest, the English carried dried acorns to protect themselves from the brutalities of the day. Considered to be an emblem of luck, prosperity, youthfulness and power, the Acorn is a good luck symbol indeed. It also represents spiritual growth.
-Wiccans/pagan believe in the acorn being a symbol of strength and power.  Since acorns only come from mature oak trees, they also symbolize patience to attain goals over a long period of time.
-Acorns hold signifigance as a Celitc symbol for life, fertility, and immortality. For this reason it is often sacred to the god Thor, who is ruler of fire and fertility. When it is carried on the person, it can often preserve youthfulness. Also acts as the symbol for strength

With this new found knowledge of acorns, I was filled with so much love for my son.  That early morning random statement held more meaning than he will ever understand.  I wanted to be an acorn.

I have struggled.  I have been as patient as I could be with the changes happening in my life. I have felt weakened by the overwhelming circumstances which surround me, but yet draw upon an inner strength to keep moving ahead and not allow myself to give up and lose hope in what lies ahead.

So, here I am, as an acorn... all this potential under the surface, minding my time, waiting for the right environment which will allow me to take root in this world to one day become a strong oak tree. 

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” 

(now, about my son being this early morning twilight sleep "oracle".... we'll save that for another blog)