Today is the second day of February. How will you use your energy and time this month? I’ve written frequently about the “fresh start” effect. It refers to the potential momentum gained by initiating a new project, behavior, habit, or goal at some meaningful point in time. It could be the beginning of the month, a birthday, or the changing of seasons.
February 2nd is also Groundhog Day. In Pennsylvania this morning, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and is predicting another six weeks of winter. Groundhog Day has roots in the Christian tradition of Candlemas and in the pre-Christian tradition of Imbolc.
We crave these types of rituals and traditions. In the Wheel of the Year, Imbolc falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s an “in between” time, very apropos to the themes of this newsletter. In between times are important for planning and rejuvenating. For reminding us to savor day-to-day life and not just wait for big events, major holidays, or yearly trips.
The celebrations of Imbolc - or Candlemas or Groundhog Day - gave our ancestors hope. We continue to hope through celebrations and rituals. We hope that winter, eventually, turns to spring. For our forebearers, who lived closer to the rhythms of the earth, these celebrations were tied to their necessary connection to the natural world. When winter stores were running low, they eagerly waited for signs that the sheep were going to lamb and that the ground was ready for planting.
Perhaps, like me, you take pleasure in perusing seed catalogs at this time of year. Whether we garden or not, we all need the hope of spring, literally and metaphorically.
I’ve been listening to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants on my daily commute. Kimmerer reads the audiobook, and her voice is very soothing. Her words are also a balm for anxious times. Kimmerer quotes scientist and poet Jeffrey Burton in talking about metaphor
“…as a sign of a deeper truth, metaphor was close to sacrament. Because the vastness and richness of reality cannot be expressed by the overt sense of a statement alone.”
~Jeffrey Burton
Kimmerer also writes:
“Native scholar Greg Cajete has written that in Indigenous ways of knowing, we understand a thing only when we understand it with all four aspects of our beings: mind, body, emotion, and spirit.”
~ Robin Wall Kimmerer
These concepts, in my opinion, connect to our need for ritual. Many holidays and traditions are rooted in the cycles of the seasons and our place in them, sometimes literally and often metaphorically as well. Part of ritual is also understanding our experiences in the world not just with our minds but also with our bodies, emotions, and spirits.
These are challenging times. Figurative and literal landscapes are full of instability and uncertainty. It seems that the foundations of society and the norms for caring and considerate human interactions are floundering. This is happening in economic, personal, political, social, and technological realms.
One way or another, it affects us all.
Personally, my mind is very much occupied with the political situation in the United States. Many, and in particular those who are most vulnerable in our society, will be affected by a flurry of policies, which - whether enacted or not - will embolden attitudes that harm people.
***
I’ve been rambling around in this post on and off today. It doesn’t capture exactly what I want to say, and yet it’s my imperfect offering for now.
There’s much we can’t control. There are things we can change. There are ways to resist. How do we fortify ourselves to work for change?
As many have been saying, community and joy are key.
May we connect to our communities to comfort and inspire us.
May we cultivate meaningful rituals to ground and sustain us.
May we find awe and joy in our daily routines to bolster and energize us.
And, nourished by all of these, may we act to create a better world for all beings.
With care and gratitude,
Mary
"Embolden attitudes that harm" jumped out at me. What rituals do I have for strength and sustenance in times when others feel emboldened in ways that are mean-spirited and deeply harmful?
Tonight, in my yoga class, the teacher talked about Harry Potter. She excused herself for sounding "cheesy" but said how much she loves Harry Potter and asked the class to recall the when Dumbledore dies, everything goes dark and Prof. McGonigall raises her wand which has a small tip of light. And as she does others do the same. With each single tiny wand tip they bring light.
Yoga and meditation are rituals of strength and sustenance. Gathering in community is a ritual of strength and sustenance. Awareness and savoring of beauty and joy is a ritual of strength and sustenance.
Lovely and thought provoking! Thanks for writing today (or I guess it was a couple of days ago now.)
Timely and meaningful as usual. Thank you.