The Three Sisters
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala 2023
When I think about this past trip, with Sophia and Alexis, I feel into the ways we worked together. I’m brought back to the love and connection that flowed so smoothly through the 3 of us. Each one of us strong and beautiful on our own, but when we come together we truly yield more love and energy. Here’s to compounding the marks we leave.
This reminds me of the Three Sisters from Native American traditions: corn, beans, and squash. I would like to say anyone growing up learning history in New England, has heard of them, but maybe just anyone whose paying attention to those bits of information.
From Mexico all the way to Maine, the indigenous people of this land planted these 3 seeds together as one crop. Each had its role. They became known as the Three Sisters. There are many stories of where they came from, but plants tell their own story…. And this is theirs.
The corn comes up first. It gets a head start so it can be strong and tall for the beans when they come. The beans adorn the corn and the corn stands strong making adjustments where needed, but providing a place for the beans to bloom and blossom, and become everything that they can be! The squash arrives last but has an important role. It adventures out collecting water and nourishment away from the corn and beans, and in doing so it covers the Earth around the base of all 3 plants, discouraging critters and keeping the soil shaded and wet for them to thrive.
“They share the soil by the same techniques that they share the light, leaving enough for everyone.”
~Robin Wall Kimmerer
These 3 plants also wholesomely compliment each other nutritionally. Corn is a great source for starch… for food energy. Beans are high in protein and help create nitrogen rich soil. Squash provides an array of vitamins and a “carotene-rich flesh”.
The Three Sisters story teaches us to know our gifts and how to use them to take care of each other. They teach us that if we work together, we will all prosper in abundance on our paths. They embody a relationship of wholeness and equality, while celebrating and utilizing each other’s differences. These 3 plants have succeeded on this quest, and in their story, there is hope for us too.
Sophia, Alexis, and I were planted together somewhere in the cosmos. When we sprouted up in Jaibalito, Guatemala, together, our energies fell into place. Our bones knew this story and our hearts made space for it to come alive. We flowed like the healing waters of Lake Atitlan, in beautiful synchronicity and reciprocity. Our energies grow in respect, just as the corn, the beans, and the squash have for thousands of years.
I am so grateful for this connection! To the Universe, thank you for being the gardener of life that planted us together, so that we may have the opportunity to plant our seeds and see them grow, year after year.
