Honoring the Transition of Spring
Dear One,
I have been musing on transitions, life cycles, project cycles, motherhood cycles, business cycles, relationship cycles. Everything in life is a cycle, not a linear beginning and ending. Everything has its season, and when we honor the transitions, create stillness, and understand what our point of equilibrium is (not everyone else's idea of balance) we face change more gracefully and with some sense of ease.
I think of the beauty and grace of a musician or a dancer. I have been watching my son play guitar since he was 8, he is now 15 and is getting better and better. The difference I see is his ability to transition fluidly with his fingers but also between totally different styles of music (Rock, Country, and Now I thrilled to say Blues) instead of abrupt starts and stops, and because he is acknowledging the stillpoint and flowing to the next thing it has brought his music from beginner level to potent adept. A dancer does the same thing, she anticipates the music and therefore the embodied movement change and seamlessly transitions, so gracefully that no one externally has any idea what is going on, doesn't even notice it. How do they do this? Through the paradox of stillness in action, being present while still being aware of what is about to come, by not thinking about what just came before, because then the musician or dancer would stop dead in their tracks, by feeling the music and their surroundings with every part of their being and because they:
PRACTICE THEIR CRAFT
And so it is in life, we can't know our future but we can create the conditions for the future we would like to have by practicing our craft, the craft of:
Life as a Sacred and Creative Act
And because we are entering the season of Spring, and the Element of Air this is the time of transitions, of fertility, of the winds of change blowing us from the dark of winter to the fire of summer. How do we slow down long enough to honor that, and honor the transitions? Well its a practice, one that if you choose to work with, the slowing down in order to be in right action with what life has to present you I guarantee you will face change and transition with ease and grace.
I have been talking to so many women that are in transition both big and small. Death, divorce, career changes and shifts, homeschooling, life during a pandemic and a new normal, retirement and finding themselves anew, motherhood transitions, relationship transitions, even the time change is a transition as is the season change. Many are just feeling a sense of change afoot but not being able to pinpoint it. We are all going through a transition of one kind or another because as I said our lives are cyclical, as is nature. But we do not honor or even stop to take a moment to acknowledge that we are transitioning, and we don't give ourselves a chance to catch our breath. Spring is all about the Air element, and breathing, it is a great time to start a breathwork practice. The transition to spring is the perfect time, to slow down, stop for a moment, look at what has transpired since Winter, look at the goals and visions, and with Laser Like clarity start making choices of what direction we will take and where we will put our focus and energy, AND CHECK IN. What we thought we wanted in January may already have a different look and feel now that we are in March. Like a pilot, we don't just get in the plane and keep flying without stopping, we have to first stop to look at the path and the map and determine the flight plan, then we have to stop to recharge and refuel, or guess what?
We literally crash and burn.
We can't keep running on empty, with no navigation systems in place. And for us we have to have a daily practice to check the tank and the instrument panels, but we also have to take longer pauses to create ritual and ceremony and take a visionary look at the flight plan, so we are taking the path that encounters the least amount of stormy weather as possible, also knowing when we take these pauses that we have created the internal conditions to make it through the changes and the storms too. And that when those things come up we don't go into emergency mode and lose an engine. (Ok enough with the plane metaphors..lol)
This week the Equinox is on the 20th, this is a perfect time to honor the transitions, access your visionary self, and gain clarity on moving from one cycle to the next and what that looks like FOR YOU from a heart centered and clear place. This is the time to create a short ceremony honoring the element of air, the winds of change, taking a breath, and stopping to notice the transitions you are in, instead of "moving on" to the next thing without honoring the ending of the other. When we honor an ending in this way, just like the dancer or musician we don't get stuck in it without realizing it, but move through it gracefully and allowing it to open us to the possibility and beauty of what is coming next.
The Equinox is also about balance and equilibrium, but that may not mean a 50/50 balance of anything, but a sense of finding your own balance point on the continuum that is your life. Our focuses may be stronger in one area of our life in this cycle than in others, and that is OK, once you let go of the idea that they all get equal attention, all of the time, you actually reduce the overwhelm. Its just the practice of asking everyday what is in your joy and heart and soul desires to receive attention that day, and do it. The old saying where attention goes, energy flows is true. Conversely, getting really truthful about what you have been completely ignoring (usually for women it is self-care, self-pleasure, connection to inner wisdom and the Divine) and how that is showing up for you, and how that is effecting you. How is ignoring those things feeling in your body, manifesting in your emotions, and start getting some clarity on what is really important.
A few lovely practices at this time of year:
Open the windows and air your spaces out, Spring cleaning is not just for "cleaning" but literally resets the energy of a space (including your inner space.)
Pay attention to what the animals, especially the birds are doing, as well as, the plants. I talk to the creatures, I ask them to show me what I need to see in order to receive "navigational" guidance. When we pay attention, we receive answers. I ask "show me what I am not seeing."
A good inquiry is to also to create some quiet time, inside or outside by taking a walk and musing on "what do I know now that I did not know in January about my visions, dreams, focuses?" "What is working and feeling flowing and harmonious, what is not working or feeling forced, or draining me of my energy."
What shifts do I need to make to be more harmonious and flowing, what I am willing to let the "wind" take and clear out? (It is OK if something you thought you wanted to do in January, is not flowing or in your joy...let it go, it IS OK to reset visions, dreams, and goals AT ANY TIME that is right for you.)
Where do I desire to put my life force focus, energy and resources towards to allow to blossom in the summer and harvest in fall (or next year if it is a larger vision that will take many cycles).
Go plant something, put your intentions into the seeds.
Choose a favorite (or learn a new) creative practice, make a commitment, make the time and space for it.
I would love to hear what emerged for you from asking these questions of your Inner Wisdom, and if there is any way I can support you in bringing your life force focus into more clarity and bringing those creative dreams into a reality.
I have not chosen a date yet but (sometime in April) there will be a Creative and Contemplative Workshop to honor this Spring energy and assist you in getting clarity around your sacred life and business design for the next cycle. And making choices on which "seeds" you are planting that you want to focus your energy on.
Love and Light,
Dina