Gratitude continues to expand these days for many things. One of which is being in a part of the country with the change of seasons. I’ve always thought of myself as a sun-baby … which I am really, however living both in SoCal/LA & Arizona before that, I have so much appreciation for the clouds, the brisk chill/cold & ironically, I may even welcome snow when it arrives!
Staying in tune with the cycles of Mother Nature have been important for harmonizing & balancing on all levels of my being. Living in mostly perpetual sunshine & heat, for the past years, I felt I had to self-impose the quietude & dormancy my body & mind craved, while all around me the sun energy provoked activity & inspiration.
During the winter, a time of crone-hood, my hibernation felt out of place, with the continuous liveliness of the maiden-sunshine. The death processes that often required long periods of sleep or melancholy, were harder to sink into.
This year, in the mid-west, I feel in sync, in tune, the outer is reflecting the inner. The elements are working in tandem with my energy. As we move toward the Winter Solstice, I’m doing the necessities of the day to day, yet on my days off relishing in naps, going to bed earlier, getting up a little later. Taking baths. Meditating more through out the day. Letting the death process unfold of this highly transformative last year.
There are more layers simply falling away, the more that I enter into ‘just being.’ Once again, I have a place where I can stretch out, snuggle in & do absolutely nothing but watch the clouds. Even though we’ve had some great sunny days, the crispness of the air and the bare trees, remind me to keep letting go. To go within. To slow down. To trust in the wisdom that unfolds from the crone/the wise woman within. Chew the cud of all the lessons learned & allow the soil for the coming spring to grow fertile in this dark time of the year.
I’m grateful for the grace & nourishment that emerges when aligning & balancing to what is true within. This more often than not, means consciously unplugging & deprogramming from the voices/energy of the collective consciousness, that compels us to constantly go & do, strive & distract from the inner quietude that the winter season gently lulls us toward.
Mother Nature is teaching us, mirroring our own nature to us, through her cycles. However it’s up to me/us to glean the wisdom she imparts, not through words or the intellect, but from the body, the heart & Being.
As we move into the longest night of the year, may we all feel the blessings, nourishment & wisdom from our own crone-nature, that speaks to us in the dark quietude of Soul.
& Winter Solstice Blessings ~
Lotus
art: Frank Howell
Lotus Lindley 