The Strawberry & the Rose: A Journey into Connection and Presence

Learning to Stay

I recently returned from a training that deeply reshaped my understanding of connection. I thought I was going there to learn how to better connect with others — and I did — but the biggest lesson was that connection always begins with Self.

It starts with checking in with our sensations, our breath, our truth in the moment. It means staying with what’s there, even when it's uncomfortable. Rather than disconnecting or reaching outward, I learned to stay inward first — feeling my emotions, even the pain, softening into presence, and revealing myself honestly.

And from that place of grounded self-connection, something new became possible. I began to truly see others — even people I might not normally be drawn to. By staying in my own body, I became more available to meet them. To feel their energy. To witness their beauty.

Close-up of a ripe strawberry symbolizing slow, sensory connection and mindful presence.

I learned what I now call the strawberry effect — a way of approaching connection and intimacy with slowness, presence, softness.

When you taste a strawberry slowly, using all your senses — looking, touching, smelling, tasting — something changes. The same applies to human connection. When we slow down, make eye contact, feel energy, and allow space for silence and pauses, connection becomes sacred. It becomes alive.

And one of the deepest things I learned was this: if you think you're going slow… go even slower. That’s where the magic begins — in the softness, in the silence, in simply being. In co-creation. In the two becoming one.

The Rose as Teacher

After the training, I stayed in the area for one more experience — a workshop on connecting and communicating to the Rose, 'this embodiment of love' flower. My heart was already open, but I didn’t know it could open even further.

The rose invited me into a new kind of connection. We learned to engage with her using all five senses, not rushing straight to smell her, but preparing for that moment — by seeing her beauty, touching her petals, tasting her gently, and listening deeply.

From this sensory presence, a true connection emerged. I asked the rose: What is my medicine? And I also asked: How can I support you?  I realized that all real connection is reciprocal. It’s not just about receiving — it’s about meeting, offering, respecting.

The depth of this practice was profound. I understood that I could connect with any part of nature this way: trees, animals, stones. Ask permission. Slow down. Listen with all the senses. And from there, something sacred can unfold.

Detailed image of a dried, dark rose, representing the depth, beauty, and wisdom found in endings and transformation.

One moment that stayed with me was smelling the scent of a deceased rose. It was darker, deeper — sensual and wise. A reminder that even in death, there is beauty and essence.

We ended by making rose medicine — tinctures, essence, oils, hydrosols — practical expressions of love and reverence. And I left with so much gratitude for this plant and what she revealed.

The rose, like the strawberry, reminded me: love lives in presence. Connection begins with slowing down. And intimacy — with people, nature, or ourselves — always begins by coming home to the heart.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to explore July's upcoming events — each one is an opportunity to return to your own wisdom, your own breath, your own medicine.

🌹 See what’s coming up here: thehealingjourneys.net/upcoming-events