Archive for December, 2020
New Year 2021
I have always thought it strange that we end and begin a ‘new year’ in the middle of the winter season. Yet, there is an aspect that seems to fit for me regarding the reflecting, planning and goal-setting for the coming year. The winter season is a perfect time to go within; to assess the past year and all it’s glories and defeats; and, to create a plan for the coming year.
For the first time in a really long while I am feeling excitedly optimistic about the coming year. I have been mulling over ideas for the past three weeks. I am now ready to commit my goals to paper.
There is no doubt that part of my optimism comes from the acknowledgement of how amazingly blessed I am.
I have a good roof over my head; I can turn on a faucet and not only get potable water, but hot potable water, and, I can shower in this luxury in the midst of cold, dark and murky weather; I have reliable transportation; good, healthy food in my belly; amazing services (phone, utilities, mail). I have the love of friends and family; I am free to come and go as I please; and I can worship the God of my choice without fear of being nailed to a cross or burned at a stake.
I invite each and every one of you to take a year-end inventory. Give ‘thanks’ where thanks is due. Open your mind and your heart to the possibilities awaiting you, like dormant seeds patiently preparing to sprout.
What crop are you going to plant this year? What seeds are you going to sow? Plan now!
Your future is in your hands!
Solstice 2020
The winter Solstice is today. This Solstice is extra special. The Great Conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn appears at it’s closest today. So close that in some circumstances they appear as one very bright star often called the Christmas Star.
Jupiter is expansive, good luck, healing, abundance and fun. Saturn is rigid, uncompromising, restrictive, responsibility and long-term lessons.
On the Solstice we enter Aquarius, the air element, leaving Capricorn, the earth element. The Air element is associated with mind, information, communication, innovation, technology, humanitarianism, reform and independence.
Great Conjunctions usually mark a time of immense change. (Numerically 2021 adds up to 5 and 5 is about change). Jupiter and Saturn will play significant roles in the years to come…contrasting, conflicting and complimentary. Expect radical shifts, growth and renewed expectations. Interestingly, COVID-19 vaccine’s rapid development, using MRNA technology, coincides with this upcoming conjunction.
It is a time for creating solutions for the myriad challenges facing humanity. It is a time for the growth of greater personal responsibility. It is a time for finding opportunity in crisis.
Winter Solstice invites rest and reflection; a time for going within; a time to honor the past, and let go of that which no longer has positive value; a time for setting future goals and intentions. It is a time for hope.
Many Blessings!
Courage
Courage is the ability to conquer fear; to confront danger, despair, pain and uncertainty.
Physical courage is required when facing the above, and, for most of us, death or the threat of death. Moral courage is ‘acting rightly’, especially in the face of opposition, popular opinion and/or peer pressure.
Ernest Hemingway defined courage as “grace under pressure’. Maya Angelou said, “Courage is the most important of the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.”
In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man form a supportive relationship, helping each other to overcome their individual fears and weaknesses, enabling them to follow the Yellow Brick Road. Along the way they endure many trials and tribulations. Arriving at Oz they discover a splendid truth; that courage resides within each of them.
Daily living requires courage. At times, just the act of getting out of bed and facing the day is valorous. Overcoming trauma, a difficult childhood, striving to become an independent and authentic person all demand courage as an integral part of the journey.
This week I invite you to reflect on your personal courage. Own the integrity, dignity and resilience that arise naturally from the practice of this essential virtue.
Faith
We all have personal belief systems. The basic tenets are most often rooted in our family of origin. However, as we mature our belief systems shift, change or simply fall away. We get on with the tasks of achieving and surviving in an increasingly challenging world; and, taking our beliefs for granted, they frequently go untested. It is when tragedy, illness, loss, separation, strife, any of the frailties that the human condition is heir to occur, that we reach out for the comfort and hope of our faith.
As a race we are moving rapidly toward the birth of a new age and the labor pains are getting closer and harder. Now is the time to ‘plug-in’ to your belief system, to your faith.
The word faith comes from Old English, Old French and Latin. All define faith as belief, a confidence in or trust (of), especially without logical proof. Faith is certainty. Do you have the comfort of certainty in your life? Does your belief system bring you peace in the face of crisis? Inner harmony in the midst of strife?
The time is now. Put your faith to work for you. If needed, test, explore…rework your belief system to suit who you are; where you are; and, where you are going.
