Emerging from the Dark
Dear One,
February 1st is the Celtic High Holy Day of Imbolc, AKA, Brigid's Day, and Candelmas in the Christian traditions. This marks the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and The Spring Equinox and I cannot be happier that we are welcoming more light into our days. I always know the moment that more light in the day is apparent when I can drive my son back and forth to band rehearsal and it is still light out. At that point even though I have noticed a minute more of lightness each day, it becomes a noticeable shift. Imbolc is considered a "fire" or light ceremony, where the light is beginning to penetrate the dark, and nourish the seeds that have been sitting dormant. And even when we can't "see" activity and growth with our outer eyes, there is a stirring beginning to happen. It is evident and yet still mysterious. This time marks the beginning of the fertile season, the time to really illuminate what we want to birth into the world, and begin to get inspired by our own magic and ability to bring those visions we set and dreams into form.
Working with these cycles gives us the opportunity to slow down, to not rush things, as a seed cannot be rushed from a seed to a blossom. It is time to light the candles and really distill down the visions and intentions we set in January, and choose which seeds we will penetrate with our light (and life force energy), which ones we will tend, and give those that are really lighting us up, the time and attention it takes to mother them into form.
A year ago at this time, I thought I would be "seeding" and growing many things, and yet I knew simplicity would be the theme of my year, in fact it was necessary for my energetic health, this was before I knew what was coming for us as a collective, although I suspect my intuition did know a slow down would be forced upon us. I flew home from a retreat lit up and excited....yet starting to see in the news that a new virus was beginning to make people sick. Like many of you though, I don't think it set in, until early March when we started to shelter at home in different degrees all over the country. Just when I thought we would be emerging from the metaphoric dark, I was thrown right back in, like many of you.
The blessing of the virus was permission to slow down, to really distill what seeds are most important to me, to release the need to have a million irons in the fire (or try to nourish too many seeds into blossoms), and to come home to my literal home, my inner home, and tend the hearth of my relationships. The summer brought a lot of time in nature.
Some of you may be thinking this year is a time to go back to "normal", finally "come out" and go back to the overwhelm, and over-doing. And I ask why? Why would I do that? Why would I go back to running the story that I need to do, be and have more? That story does keep creeping in as I vision for this year, and I have to stop and say no. It is not necessary. Because the truth is I do enough, I am enough, and I certainly have enough. And I know that is true for you too, even if it doesn't always seem like it. Isn't it time to stop running the more, more, more story? The paradox is that doing more doesn't always bring more...or at least not more of what you truly desire in your heart and soul.
My life; truth be told is pretty fantastic and definitely sacred in every moment, even the difficult ones. So this year my "seeds" are few, but will be refined and potent. My seeds have more to do with nourishing my vessel. My physical vessel, my emotional vessel through joy, creativity and play, and deepen into my spiritual vessel through finding the sacred and reverent in every moment, and in every place and space I find myself in, including making the choice to be in nature spaces more. My work seeds have a lot more to do with serving you and humanity in the way that honors my gifts and yours, things that come with ease and grace. Again a process of refinement, not starting a whole garden of new seedlings. That takes a lot of life force focus and energy. And like a real garden, if you don't "thin" out the seedlings, you have a bunch of skinny plants instead of a few robust plants that produce a lot of fruit to savor and enjoy.
So on this day of Imbolc, the invitation is for you to look at what you want to seed and nourish....what is really and truly of the deepest importance to you. Choose a few seeds to nourish and tend, and let go of the rest. Because the "rest" will come naturally with ease and grace when you tend to what your heart and soul truly desires. AND when you operate from the place that honors your divine gifts plus your soul desires you can make magic.
Love and Light,
Dina