“Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning.
You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up.
And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.”
Think Like a Tree Soak up the sun Affirm life’s magic Be graceful in the wind Stand tall after a storm Feel refreshed after it rains Grow strong without notice Be prepared for each season Provide shelter to strangers Hang tough through a cold spell Emerge renewed at the first signs of spring Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky Be still long enough to hear your own leaves rustling.
“The world is holy. We are holy. All life is holy. Daily prayers are delivered on the lips of breaking waves, the whisperings of grasses, the shimmering of leaves.”
May Brigid bless the house wherein you dwell Bless every fireside every wall and door Bless every heart that beats beneath its roof Bless every hand that toils to bring it joy Bless every foot that walks its portals through May Brigid bless the house that shelters you.
♡
In February the ancient tribes of Europe celebrated Imbolc and the return of spring. Imbolc marks the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. It falls on February 3 in 2017.
Brigid is the Pagan Goddess / Catholic Saint that the Celtic people associated with Imbolc. In Celtic tales, Brigid is said to have been born at daybreak. She rose into the sky with rays of fiery sun beaming from her head. As an infant, Brigid was fed with milk from a sacred cow from the fairy realm. It is also believed that small flowers and shamrocks would appear wherever the Goddess Brigid walked. As a sun Goddess, Brigid’s gifts are light (knowledge), inspiration, and the healing energy of the sun. Brigid is also associated with sacred healing waters. There are many springs and wells named after her in the British Isles.
Whether seen as a Goddess or Saint, Brigid commands the power of both fire and ice. You can honor Imbolc and Brigid by lighting a candle and offering gratitude that spring is on its way.
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” ~Elie Wiesel
It can be difficult to follow the current political news, much less act on it. So much of what is happening now is crazy and scary. I try to hold this quote from Elie Wiesel (above) close to my heart.
Sometimes I have powerful negative feelings bubble up when I see what’s happening in America today. I feel deep fear and anger and even hate at times. That’s ok. Those too are normal human emotions. It’s all spiritual grist for the mill – even the crazy ugly stuff.
Denying or stuffing my negative reactions to the news doesn’t help anyone. Denial ties me up in knots. I lose my ability to act. But if I can allow myself the space to feel whatever I’m feeling about the chaos around me, no matter how uncomfortable, I come out the other side stronger and clearer and more capable of acting from a space of love and compassion.
