“Is it time to make peace with change rather than being afraid of impemanence? After all change is the very stuff of life itself, and through change we have the opportunity to grow. Perhaps it is better to hold lightly, rather than tightly...”
The year is turning again, with Samhain just days away, and the trees once more coloured brilliantly in their Autumn robes, ready to let go and move towards rest. It's a good time for us also to take stock, to review what has worked for us despite the tough challenges of 2020, and to let go of anything or anyone that isn't serving us. This may include beliefs or attitudes, about ourselves, about others and about our responsibility to take care of Mother Earth and all life.
There is much discussion of uncertainty and risk, and yet perhaps one of the biggest lessons we can learn in life is to make peace with "uncertainty". It is often quoted that there are only two certainties in life: that we are born and we will die - and yet life, the connecting thread between, is the journey itself with all its joys and tears. The journey we travel is as much about how we respond and the choices we make as what happens along the way.
HOLDING LIGHTLY, NOT TIGHTLY
I take issue with this conceived wisdom of two certainties... Death and life are both transitional times, in other words changing states, as necessary as day moving into night and back to day again. You only need to walk out into Nature and observe how she follows the cycle of the seasons... spring always follows on from winter! The seed gives rise to the plant, to the flower, to the fruit, to the seed.... The patterns of our seasons do not alter, even though climate change is making itself felt more and more. Perhaps it is more about making peace with change rather than being afraid of impemanence.
Change is the very stuff of life itself. Perhaps it is better to hold lightly, rather than tightly?
There have been days when I have felt I have lost everything I thought was secure in my world - my home, partner, healing practice, sense of direction and, some days, even purpose... And yet, everything I have need of is inside of me, all of my life's experiences and wisdom. As I move out slowly from overwhelm and loss, I can feel my energies and hope beginning to return to me. What this is teaching me more than anything else is to value each day, each moment, each beautiful breath. And it is teaching me to know myself, and that I am capable of far more than I ever believed I could be...
It is not possible to know what is coming next, however what is increasingly clear is that life as we have known it, has fundamentally shifted - and the shifts will continue. For me, spending increasing time with Nature, especially amongst the trees, has brought unexpected tranquillity and peace, as I recognise that my life flows as the seasons flow. That there is a time to review life, and a time to envision and plant new seeds.
Embracing change, helps me to remember that without endings, there can be no new beginnings. And without change, without transitions, there can be no growth...
We are living in a time of awakening and tremendous growth. Our enforced period of seclusion has seen the beginning of internal transformation for many people as they begin to question the old certainties and ways of doing, not only in their personal lives, but in the external world - and wanting something better for their lives and those of the future generations.
CREATIVE ENERGY
There is also a powerful creative energy moving, which can help us be carried forward on the winds of change. Creativity manifests in many ways. This can be through vision, through dreams, through creative processes and creative ideas. So, although you may not know your future, you can envision and plan in a different way.
Some of you will feel ready to embrace the uprush of creative energies coming in - others will still be in overwhelm and shock, still feeling the earth moving under your feet. For you, I encourage especial gentleness. Focus simply on what you need. Allow yourself time to heal and recover.
For others, make this your preparation time for a world you would like to live in, and know that your contribution matters, whether you are a designer, a plumber, a painter, a film maker, a writer, a dancer, a gardener, a musician, a healer, a teacher, a technological whizz... We are all part of the greater being, and we can all weave our threads to create something wonderful.
I have begun to create Mandalas, which will appear on my website - and Instagram (beauty.way.59), from time to time. My lovely new Logo has evolved out of a combination of the beautiful Golden Ray Healing I have received myself and these creative energies.
Amidst all this shift and change, as you begin to let go of anything that troubles, the best thing you can do is to find ways to ground yourself. Steady and stabilise yourself as much as you can - walk in nature, exercise, dance, cook, garden, hug those you may, weep when you need to, learn how to just be, take a quiet moment - and find new ways of being creative.
And then begin to dream, vision the future and let yourself be carried forward on the winds of change to a better, happier world.