Post by Roxey Size
We become stuck when we hold onto the past while trying to reach our future…
We as a people tend to want to move forward. We see it through our natural history. We started out as primal creatures seeking food and shelter alone, to banding together and creating tribes after realizing that working together accomplishes more than what the individual can do. Fast forward to present day and the technology that surrounds us is immense and affects our everyday life. We have evolved so much in our brief time on this planet and while some advances have actaully set us back, for the majority of it all I think we can say that we’ve upgraded and evolved. But how do we do this? And what does nature do to help us move this along? How can we let go of the past and how do we know when is the right time to do so?
This time of year is very important to this theme of upgrading who we are, The Winter Solstice. While every solstice has a different meaning and a different results the Winter solstice is about death and rebirth. Letting go of our past and reaching towards our bright future. Acknowledging and honoring those we’ve lost and things that perhaps didn’t materialize the way we wanted them too and looking to upgrade ourselves and our future for a new horizon.
The theme we see at this time of year around the solstice is Upgrade, inviting us have goals, intention and plans to enrich our lives. And the determination to see them to fruition, because sometimes we do not realize the fine line between focus and imagination. While both are crucial, we need to ensure we are holding true to our goals and not let imagining take over and lead us astray. The two need to work in harmony to see our dreams come true.
Helping us further navigate the rest of year and follow through with our dreams are focus and discipline. Sometimes we may get caught in fear in the unknown of what has yet to come. What might it be like to, instead, remain present and work through each step as it comes? The more aware and present we are with change and transition the more powerful our solstice will be.
When a electronic stops working and becomes slow what do we do? We might try to fix the little hiccups but eventually what we need to do is upgrade and transform. We as humans work very much the same way, we keep functioning with the problem and pretending that it does not exist but eventually something gives and we are burnt out. By evolving and nurturing and upgrading ourselves we transform and can continue to strive towards our goals and aspirations.
One way we can become the change we want to see in the world is nurturing ourselves. Often we see the pattern in people, such as “I wasn’t treated right and therefore I do not know how to treat others”. This is a pattern that can be broken by our willingness to change and our convictions to learn how to nurture ourselves. A most effective way to do so is through spending time in nature.
Nature is always changing and flowing, it embraces the warmth of the sun in the summer and graces us with the beautiful white winter that allows the earth a period of renewal in the spring. It teaches us that it’s okay to change and not everyday will be sunny. It encourage us to embrace this change and nurture ourselves and once we know how to love ourselves that energy carries over to others and all of a sudden these old patterns begin to crack and crumble leaving raw emotions of empathy, love and harmony.
But…how do we let go of the past? This can be especially challenging when a loved one has passed and we are still in the thick grief. A way we can do this is by appreciating what they gave to us in their life and look for ways that their spirit is continuing to help guide us. Nature is a powerful place where our ancestors often reside. Look for their guiding light.
Our ancestors have long honoured the Winter Solstice. One such example is the ancestors who built Stonehenge in England between 2,000 BC- 3,000 BC. This magnificent landmark was built as an astronomical point and used to help our ancestors tell the time of year where the energies manifested most.
Stonehenge was built on the sight-line pointing towards the Winter Solstice sunset. This was believed to be the most important solstice of all. This was the time of year where our ancestors would give gratitude and sacrifice a good amount of cattle so that they would not have to be fed throughout the winter, thus preserving themselves and well as when alcohol was fermented. It also told them when was the best time to sow crops or count what they might need to survive the winter. The solstice was a guild to out ancestors and they built Stonehenge to help them manifest this powerful energy.
So, as the Winter Solstice approaches, what would it be like to allow ourselves to focus and imagine ourselves upgraded? Imagine being nurtured by our imagination while maintaining discipline in holding true to our words, our goals and ourselves. Dream of basking in this energy of the Winter Solstice celebrated since the time of our ancestors. Allow yourself to change and flow as mother earth not fearing the future but embracing it. Let us us bid farewell to physical forms of loved ones and look forward to their guiding spirits in our everyday life and above all….let us upgrade and evolve once more.
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