Recently it was my birthday and I am writing this in the early hours before dawn reflecting on the year I am leaving behind and the year to come, as I celebrate another turn around the sun in this mysterious magnificent journey called Life.
I am particularly reflecting on the gifts of this time of year, as the earth turns its face to the sun and the springtime shows its face with the early blossoms on the trees (my darling father always used to tell me that the day I was born the sun shone in England.. a rare thing at this time of year!) Yet for another month we are still in the wintertime, with its unexpected rainstorms and chilly weather. For me, this is the first winter I have spent in the northern hemisphere for several years, and I have been enjoying the experience of hibernating, turning within to nourish body, heart and soul, allowing the long nights to nurture a deep sense of rest and an inward drawn attention. I appreciate the value of this inner time, which has its own gifts.
I am grateful after many months to be sensing the birth of my new offering to the world as a guide for women (that includes men!) going through midlife. I am aware of how the rite of passage, for me, and for many of us is not an easy one. It has many twists and turns and can be painful, scary and confusing, as we are asked to let go of what no longer serves us, die to who we have been, and step into unknown territory. Without a clear map the mind’s stories of sickness, aging and death loom, and there doesn’t seem much to look forward to.
As so much of my life and work has been about deep Rites of Passage (that we are so missing and needing in this culture), I have been deeply curious about this particular rite of passage as I travelled this dark night of the soul within. I am sensing in myself a birth of something so much deeper, that has to do with my own Soul’s wisdom. A deep relaxation and trust in the unfolding of things is emerging and an allowing of all things to be as they are, without stress, struggle and efforting.
Our culture does not support either the deep rest that our bodies, minds, hearts and souls need periodically, nor does it support the natural process of aging and moving from a frantic egoic based reality that keeps us in an exhaustive mode of doing, doing, doing, to get more of what we think we need that we think is going to satisfy us, which is tiring and ultimately empty.
In invite you to use the last vestiges of wintertime to slow down, take time for yourself, and see what wants to be nurtured within. Let yourself reflect deeply on what is being birthed within you. The springtime which is dawning on the earth can truly give birth to a new you- fresh, alive, and radiant.
This is not just another day; this is a new day. The more we slow down, the more we can appreciate the magnificence of each precious moment and our own mysterious unfolding.