Google+ What I Made Today: December 2024

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

in prep of the calendar flip

I have my personal new year at my birthday, and then there’s this one that so many of us share. Historically, I’ve not given this one a lot of attention, yet in the past few years I’ve explored the shared social verve of this calendar flip time. That exploration has led me to acknowledge and honor a collective bit of magick that we share (knowingly, or not) that I used to dismiss. Where I used to poo-poo and push away, now I and observe and embrace (if not with some lingering reluctance) this time ‘n’ space of the shared new year.

The mystic in me can' no longer deny the collective verve of fresh starts ‘n’ new beginnings. I feel you, comrades. And I see you. I wish to dance this dance with you. Even - and mayhaps, especially - when it’s challenging.

Today, as I prepare for this shared magick in the lingering new moon in Capricorn, I reflect on the darker aspects of this past year. I’ve already considered the lighter bits during the dark moon phase. And make no mistake, there's plenty of overlap. I do this to make ready for tomorrow, that day #1 that we share, when I open the backdoor to let out the old year, and open the front door to let in the new. It’s a ritual that I practice twice a year at both new years… and, quite frankly, any other time that calls for it, which is rare.

When that backdoor opens, I invite it all to go. All of it. The good, the bad, all of it. I neither cling to the good, nor curse the bad. I honor it all. And I thank it all. Whether I like it or not. But, truth is, I like it. I appreciate it all. All.

When that front door opens, the back is still open, and I invite clearing, for sure, so the new can whip around my interior, into cracks ‘n’ crevices where old stuff can hide, so the new can usher as much of the old, especially any of the icky sticky stuff, out that back door. I invite in fresh air, and all that is meant to be with me in the coming year. All of it. The good, the bad, all of it. All.

And I exhale, inhale, and repeat… with all of it. All.

Now, understand that I use the words “good” and bad” not for judgey judgement, but rather for our collective understanding of these words, so I may convey my meaning. Make sense?

I could go on with some personal stories to convey the value this practice has added to my life over the years, or explain more about my relationship with judgement, or just ramble (it’s a skill), but that could take days, and we have this new year for which to prepare. And in case you’re wondering: Yes, I have lists.

And I invite you to have lists… to help you hold, acknowledge and honor your goods ‘n’ bads, so you may release them with conscious awareness. And if the ritual of the open doors resonates with you, and even if it doesn’t, I invite you to engage it. If you don’t have two doors, leverage one, and a window. No window? A single door will do. Start where you are, do the best you can, and let’s make some fresh, comforting, compassionate verve together for this year ahead. For ourselves, and for all of us. All.

🕊️

Sunday, December 29, 2024

a rinse 'n' repeat resurrection?

I posted my first blog entry 20 years ago today. It was a daily practice. Then it wasn’t. Then it was. Rinse and repeat. You get the idea.

I wrote, "...this practice may simply allow me to organically explore the diversity of life, healing, spirit and energies that make up my being and offer me the experiences and opportunities that I am able to share with others - in the hopes to nurture holistic wellness and growth."

Two years ago I reflected, “Not my best structured sentence, but the meaning rings through.”

I feel a tug to resurrect the practice. Again. A tug to spew words sans judgement. Just get it out. Just flow. For the Medicine it might offer. For me, for sure. Maybe for you, too.

I write. And doodle. Every day. It’s a ritual - a Medicine practice, I say - that was reignited this past year, thanks to my Moonshine work and coven. I embrace the quiet of early morning. I cajole my mind, heart, body and being to settle into the day, to explore the current hedge of life’s mysteries.  To sip coffee. To ignore my tinnitus. To witness signs. To imagine imaginings. To stretch my body’s stiffness. To seek wisdom. To acknowledge the privilege of these morning rituals. And so on. I pick up my fuck-waste refillable fountain pens, make note of the lunar position, the ordinary date, and let the mercurial expressions present - just flow - in my daily Book of Mirrors.

Like in the recent entry I’m sharing with you here.

Despite the seasonal tug to honor the message in that entry, methinks - with this blogiversary - I may need to honor the other tug to return to this typed ritual. I mean, I know it’s been plucking at me for the past several months. I know there’s a communal need to share the Medicine that is our stories, be they grand ‘r humble. I recognize there’s a communal need to share comfort with one another. I know I’m fiercely solitary. So this way, with these typed words, feels fitting… again… in this moment.

Maybe this is it. The resurrection of regular (if not daily) shared expressions. If not for you, then for me. Whatcha think?

As I sit with this, and continue sipping my morning brew, penning my pre-dawn ruminations, I invite you - if you are able - to offer attention to the words that the spirit of winter offered me… “Embrace Winter: The spirit of quiet, stillness, slow pace, be the be. Just flow.”

Be the be. We shall see. Just flow.

🕊️