Wednesday 2nd February is calendar Imbolc, feast of Brigid, Goddess of healing, smithcraft, home, hearth, poetry and inspiration. 2011 seems to be a time to follow our inspiration and plant our ideas firmly in the earth as an act of healing for the future. The present times seem extremely unpredictable as we witness global protest against authoritarian government regimes, extreme environmental disasters and sweeping cuts which seem to be affecting the vulnerable in our own back yard. In many ways one could view this as bleak, just like the icy wind and barren earth outside. Yet change brings not only instability, but also possibility. This time is an urgent wake up call. Inside each of us is the seed of possiblity and the potential for positive change and growth.
For me, the past few years have felt like a time of deep personal healing accompanied by unforseen, sudden changes in home and hearth along with huge opportunities for growth. I am now feeling an inner urgency to translate that inner growth into outer action: a need to contribute, to heal, inspire and work in harmony with others. I have always felt strongly that change has to occur within before it can manifest in the external world. It seems for the last ten years I have been slowly learning to 'school the soul'...Keats and that this is the journey we are all on. Part of my process at present is an increasing awareness and sensitivity to the need to contribute in my own backyard. Malcolm X actually advocated this and I believe it holds much truth. We need to set our own house in order and endeavor to make changes in ourselves, our family, our community, workplace, relationships first and in doing so we can change the world in which we live. Ghandi said:'You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.'And 'Be the change you want to see in the world'....He also said there was no better way to find yourself than to lose yourself in the servise of others.
I do a very simple act when I go out walking and this is just picking up any letter I see and either recycling it or putting it in a bin. I am horrified at the amount of litter in the hedgegrows and back lanes near the town in which I live. This act is easy and I just make sure I take a bag with me when I go out so that maybe that path I walked down will be clearer for the next person or someone will see me and maybe think twice before they walk over the next pizza container in the street. I feed the birds regularly, I recycle what I can, I endeavor to smile and to be friendly to others and help them. None of this costs anything and yet it is amazing how far a smile or an act of empathy can go.I believe that once you make changes at this very basic level it is surprising how that energy can act as a flame for others and inspire them into acts of growth and healing. I have chosen to work for a domestic violence charity and in doing so see daily how far a smile or act of kindness can make the difference to the day of a woman or child feeling alone, vulnerable, afraid and in need of warmth and hope.
At this time the first shoots are struggling to emerge from the earth and the bulbs are heralding potential for growth stored within the earth throughout the winter. The evenings are starting to draw out and the light in the sky is clear and sparkling in unblemished blue. Brigid is heralding her return as maiden and the branches have begun to sing. So too can we as we heal ourselves and our commmunity. the church renamed Imbolc as Candlemass...it is a festival of light. We too can light the flame of hope and inspiration in our hearts as we extend Brigid's gifts of healing and light into a world that so desperately needs it.
A good idea for Imbolc is to light a candle and ask Brigid for healing and inspiration. Or maybe go on a walk and notice the signs of change in the air and in the hedgerow.Visit a holy well and hang a ribbon or 'cloutie' as a prayer for healing. Thanks Brigid for her gifts and cleanse your own home and hearth in preparation for the Spring.Welcome her energy into your hearth, home and community. Walk your path with intention and stay grounded in what you seek to manifest. The earth at this time is wet and muddy, the sap is starting to rise and the rain to fall...there may even be a last flurry of snow...and yet the first snowdrops are appearing like little lights in the dark green shades of the woods and one by one they create clusters and those clusters create carpets and before you know it there before you is a spreading mantle of pure,flickering, angelic light.
Blessed Be xxx
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