the creative minimalist

spirituality

Pausing at a Pace

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pausing at a pace - journal page

It is always good to stop and pause. It feels to me like this past year, with lockdown and the virus, has all been about ‘pause’. But it hasn’t, not really. Things have been happening. Nothing really stands still. We continue to eat, drink, breathe, move.

The problem is that it feels like we are on a pause. Because of this, we don’t take time to actually stop and take a moment. A moment to give thanks, to be grateful. A time to remember all that we have even in this time of loss and restriction.

We should take time to pause at this moment because soon, things will begin to move at a pace. Then we will have even more need to pause, but at least we will know why.

Take a moment to pause, to really pause and be grateful.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

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Imbolc and fresh starts

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imbolc journal page with the words within and waiting, life lies beneath

I’m no expert on the Neo-pagan festivals, but over recent years I have found myself drawn to the natural seasonal cycle to which they relate. The solstices and equinoxes create four astronomical festivals and the other four find themselves pretty equal between. Which brings me to Imbolc, which traditionally is celebrated from the evening of 1st February to the evening of the 2nd. Although, astronomically speaking, it actually occurs about 3pm on 3rd February (GMT).

Imbolc1 is all about new beginnings after winter. Bulbs begin to sprout shoots, ice begins to melt and life, that has lain dormant through winter tentatively emerges. It is a metaphor that resonates more so this year with our world in the grips of the coronavirus.

  • Life has been dormant beneath the ground and within bare branches.
  • Life has been dormant while we endured lockdowns and loss.

Like the shoots budding on the trees and the snowdrops and bulbs thinking about breaking through the earth, there are hopes. We now have vaccines and better treatments for those who suffer are being developed.

Like a late winter storm or spring frost there may be further setbacks. Imbolc doesn’t say winter will not go without a few cries. Imbolc does say that spring is on the way. It is the herald of new life, new opportunities and new hope. That for me is a good feeling.

Imbolc blessings my friends, may you find hope in the lengthening days ahead.

1 This is only in the Northern Hemisphere. But each festival offers its positive outlook on things. Wherever you are, may you find hope for the future.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

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Mabon – Looking for Balance in the Equinox

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Mabon sticker in my journal with my other journals

The festival of Mabon in the revised neopagan year is all about harvest. It is the second or final harvest of the year, so time to eat, drink and be merry… once the fields are cleared. Mabon also falls around the autumnal equinox, in the northern hemisphere. The day when daylight and nighttime are equal, and when the sun rises and sets directly in the east and west, It is a day of total balance and equilibrium.

What is our harvest in a modern world, where very few of us live directly off the land? One part of me thinks it is time to be grateful for all that I have. For all that has been ‘harvested’ to create the things I consume. This includes the food on my plate to the clothes I wear and the luxury ‘essentials’ that adorn my lifestyle. However, I lose the earthiness of the harvest in such a simple analogy. There is something of nature that the festival of Mabon brings and I can’t quite connect to it at the moment.

And what a current moment this is. Every aspect of life has been affected by the coronavirus. This year, it feels like there is no harvest. The seasons are merging into one long miasma. Spring, summer and now autumn have felt no different from each other. Lockdowns have meant that even when the sun did shine, travel was limited. The view from a window doesn’t do justice to the awesome cyclical nature the seasons.

At this equinox, I stop for a brief moment. I sit and contemplate all that has and is happening. As the celestial movements are in balance, bringing equilibrium, I seek balance in my own life. Despite the monotony of 2020, the world, the universe and life still continue. The stars burn, the planets turn and despite my lack of notice the seasons continue.

This festival of Mabon I will remember that the harvest still exists.
The universe still provides.
My needs are still met.
I pray that your needs are too.

Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox

If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

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