The darkness always ends…

As we approach the Winter Solstice, often called the ‘shortest day of the year’ (it’s not, but it does have the least amount of sunlight in the northern hemisphere anyway), it’s helpful to remember that the darkness ALWAYS lifts.

We can learn so much from the seasons, including this dark and dormant time of year. It may feel as if everything is dead and brown, but underneath, things are percolating, resting, gathering strength. Inevitably, they return and pop through the soil in the spring.

Animals are gestating the next generation now. Humans are ‘snuggled all warm in their beds’, awaiting the return of the the light.

We’re almost there, my loves. And on the solstice, you have probably heard something about “The Star of Bethlehem” returning.This is true…mostly. Jupiter and Saturn will conjoin or meet up in the sky and form what appears to be a large, bright star.

It’s a big deal in astrology and astronomy and they have not come this close since the 1200s, but more importantly, scholars believe that this celestial cycle was the genesis of the Biblical story of the Star that the Wise Men followed to find the Christ child, over 2000 years ago.

The two planets meet up at 0 degrees of the sign of Aquarius. This also has massive significance for astrologers and human kind.

Some talk about the ‘second coming of Christ’ and point to various Biblical prophesies, particularly in Revelations. Personally, I think it is ushering in the era of “Christ Consciousness”: cooperation, community, helping and loving our neighbors, equity, letting go of the ‘every man for himself/survival of the fittest’ mentality.

This will take time…more time than I likely have in this human incarnation, but it’s real, it’s coming. But, as always, it is up to each of us, individually, to usher in these energies of evolution in the collective energies of humanity.

Just know this: we are being given a chance here. But, it starts with all of us looking inward; the external influences are strong right now and toxic. This is the time of year for us to go inward, dormant, neutral; knowing that something beautiful will bloom after we do the work required of us.

Happy Solstice, fellow humans. We have much to do; much to learn.

Navigating the heavy fog

We are all in a fog; the fog of fear, of war, of crisis, of insecurity…it’s VERY thick.

What is the best thing to do in the fog?

I used to drive down I-70 at o’dark-thirty every morning to work in Denver as a morning radio host. There were days when the fog (or a whiteout) was so thick that I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of my car. It was, to put it mildly, terrifying.

So, I often had to come to a complete stop, on I-70…not even sure what LANE I was in, praying that a semi didn’t scream right up my ass.

But, in those moments of complete fear and discombobulation, I HAD TO STOP. I had to gather myself, try to ease over to the right lane and maybe the shoulder. I had to take a moment or 10 to get my bearings as to where I was, spatially, emotionally, physically.  All of it.

Running or driving hysterically and blindly through the fog is not productive. And in fact, it’s dangerous.

That’s where we are right now. Nothing is certain; we have no idea when and if schools will open, when sports will be played, when the economy will creep back, how secure our jobs or benefits are, when the virus will wane, who will win the election, etc. The list of uncertainties is VERY long, right now.

So, stop flailing. Let go of expectations and narratives and outcomes. We are in a fog, my loves. It requires stopping, slowing and assessing how to move or NOT to move.

Don’t get bogged down in your concrete beliefs and narratives. Open up to different perspectives and information, as oftentimes I find that it can calm my fears to look at a problem or situation from another angle.

The feeling of not knowing who or what to trust, is not only understandable, it’s possibly a key to our survival. The honest truth is that EVERYONE is in this fog, as it’s part of the collective energies right now.

Those who proclaim themselves as experts or authorities are just as confused as we are:). Always keep that in mind. Believing anyone unequivocally is a recipe for at best, disappointment, at worst, tyranny.

It’s okay…no, IMPERATIVE that we ask ourselves, “Why exactly do I believe this and not that?? Maybe both things are true.”

Stop, squat and look at all sides. Question everything….

 

Both Things Can Be True…

Everyone is fighting.  So much frustration, conflict, self righteousness.

My husband is reading “The Art of Happiness” by the Dalai Lama, and since I’ve dabbled a bit in Buddhism, he asked me yesterday, how can we just float along, with rainbows and unicorns? Being ever kind and tolerant and understanding. Doesn’t that make us zombies?

His point is valid. NOTHING is solved or altered or mitigated without recognizing discomfort, injustice, danger, etc. Innovation and creativity are nearly always preceded by destruction or disruption. If we ignore those things, how do we grow?

That is where “the Middle Way” comes into play. A key principle of Buddhism and a very difficult path to walk.

It’s a variation of my current mantra “Both things can be true”. The recognition that everything is not a binary choice; we don’t have to pick between A and B. There is always a middle ground, a middle way. Something that takes A and B into account and melds them as both being valid or both being invalid, I suppose.

So much right now, tries to force us into these binary choices.

For or against science. For or against one party or the other. For or against masks.

There IS a middle way. We can recognize that science is fluid and contextual. We can recognize that masks are definitely useful in many cases, but not all. We can recognize that parties have differing philosophies and look for areas where we might have a glimmer of agreement.

The Middle Way recognizes that life is both upsetting and glorious. “10,000 joys, 10,000 sorrows”. We have to always look to both sides of the path for truths and have the intellectual and emotional maturity to not ALWAYS choose sides.

Our entire society and in particular much of media and social media is designed to force us to choose one side or the other. It’s ALL about binary choices and that’s why we are feeling so epically divided and confused.

We run most everything through our political filters now. Meaning that we give up OUR authority to make decisions and value judgements. We turn it over to politicians, pundits, media outlets, websites, ‘opinion makers’, etc. And we are in denial of these influences.  We KNOW we are right and we can post the link to an article to PROVE IT.

So, yes, as mature grown-ass adults, we have to listen to our internal guides, compass, ethics, values. We have to consciously be empathetic, compassionate, open to other perspectives. If we do that, we can begin to mitigate some of our fear and anger that is in the driver’s seat.

Both things can be true. The Middle Way.

 

2020 Reimagined

One of those mornings.  Feeling a bit trapped, stilted and restrained.

So, I have to be honest with myself and understand that nobody is restraining me, specifically; it’s my own perceptions.

I’m seeing a lot of complaining and gallows humor about how ‘awful’ 2020 is. How punishing and whacky and off kilter this year has been.

The perception of this ‘year’ (I prefer era or transition because we’re only in the first few innings of this) that I’m trying to foster, internally and personally is this:

What if we we look back in 5, 10, 20 years and realize that 2020 was the year we awakened to some things that we’d been asleep to.

What if this year, that we are all slogging through together, is the year that we FINALLY become conscious of so many things that had been undercurrents of our lives and society for a very long time.

It’s totally plausible that the reason for our fear, anger, outrage, confusion, etc is because we are being forced to see and feel things that we’ve kept buried.

We have 240 years of history, some that isn’t all that glorious, that we’ve been afraid to look at, speak of and accept due to denial, shame, group think and our own inherent need to go along with the conventional wisdom.

Or because we are members of one of the various groups that have not really been allowed a voice or full participation.

OR because we are members of the more elevated and privileged groups who don’t have to worry about the struggles, disenfranchisement or oppression of others.

My writing over the past 3-5 years has pointed to this moment. I warned that all of our institutions were on shaky ground and many are literally crumbling.

Financial, economic, educational, military, health care, GOVERNMENT, political, agriculture, media and on and on. All are failing us.

So, they must fail or evolve, so that we can SEE and then begin to reform and re-work them for a new era. One that is more equitable for everyone, rather than the protected classes.

That is what 2020 is ushering in. And yeah…watching everything that we THOUGHT was true, proven wrong, corrupt, murderous, wasteful, damaging, lethal and horribly manipulated by wealthy, powerful interests is shocking.

So, instead of complaining or deriding 2020 as some crazy anomaly that we will recover from and go back to ‘normal’, begin to shift your perspective into what is REALLY happening. Question your beliefs, behaviors, opinions, actions.

Normal is highly overrated and highly dangerous and corrosive to our well being and our nation.

Grow up says The Divine/Cosmos/God, ’cause we won’t let up until you do.

Hello 2021: Phase 2