The last couple of weeks have had a lot of niggly things to sort out and have brought up a lot of questions in my mind. I got very frustrated on a couple or more days when I could not get answers from organisatiosn and officialdom. As I think of myself as a spiritual person and a Reiki practioner then getting frustrated should be a no-no. But after all I am a spiritual being living in a human body so can only expect to have human feelings at times.
So a few questions that have come to mind;
Why do we believe everything we see, hear and read about?
Can we not think for ourselves?
Are we unable to read between the lines and see when people are telling us the truth?
Why do we obey without any thought as to what we are doing?
Mantras are powerful and we have been given a lot of those over the last year. Do we realise what is being done here?
What is currently going on in our world has been in the pipeline for a long time and is reaching its final days. Are we allowing what has been planned to happen or are we going to make changes for ourselves and others?
Do we want to be people who do as they are told, without any thought to what we are doing or do we think about what we are being asked to do and protest if we feel it is wrong?
Are we too lazy to do our research and vote for the right people not those who will get richer at our expense?
Do we want our world to be a better place for all or for just a few?
Remember we all come from the same source whatever colour or beliefs we have now.
Reflecting on this year has been difficult. There has been so much change to the way we all live. When the first lockdown arrived I chose to treat the next few weeks as a retreat. This was good but I found it quite hard to do. I missed the company of others and the face to face chats. I did not have access to Skype or other similar media at that time and I felt quite lonely at times.
After a while I found solace in my garden, watching the birds nest and produce young and watching the plants grow. As time went by I found that the highlight of my week was when my son visited as part of my ‘bubble’. This made life much better and we were able to go out and visit nature reserves. This enabled me to go to places I could not have gone to otherwise as I do not drive. I found these visits inspiring and exhilarating as we saw species I had not seen before. I took many photos and decided to make a scrapbook of the garden and these visits. I have filled two scrapbooks so far and half of another one.
I tried to walk every day but this became far too much and there were far too many people around. I started research projects and creative things like sewing and knitting and have eventually settled into a different existence. I write more, create more and I am looking forward to meeting others when the time comes. In many ways I have become more insular both by myself and with my son in our ‘bubble’. It’s as if the world outside our small radius no longer exists.
It was not until quite recently that I went into town. I needed money from the bank and I missed my sewing and knitting magazines. My son came with me and helped me through the sanitising process of shopping in stores. But I find I am not really interested in going shopping. I have never been a shopper that browses and used to just go with a list and get what was on the list. I think that goes back to when I had very little money and could only afford what was essential.
But there have been days and weeks when I have felt very down and did not want to get out of bed. These times come and go and I expect are the result of the way of life I am now living. I feel for others in similar and in worse situations. At least I have a garden and a hedge full of birds. I used to enjoy the winter days when the sky was blue and the sun shone. This last month the days seem to have been grey and wet which I find quite depressing but I noticed that the blue tits have returned.
I have done a lot of reading, light fiction and other deeper stuff and have bought myself a webcam so now I have more learning to do. But life is a journey with many lessons on the way and it is true that you learn something new every day. Overall I have managed. Some days have been exceptionally good, others quite bad and then there are plenty of what I can only call passable days. But my way of life has changed in many ways and I have survived so far.
In some areas, the community have got together to make sure every one has what they need and to help those who cannot do shopping on-line or get other things. There has been a wealth of help for the vulnerable especially families who find themselves in poverty through no fault of their own. There is more caring going on too and this is good. Many have realised what is most important in life and it is not the latest phone or gadget or the latest fashion clothing.
I always felt there was a purpose for the virus, that it was meant to make us stop and think what we were doing in our lives, the way we were abusing our planet and how we wasted stuff. I felt the virus would disappear when we all realised that we had to change. But the virus is still here so what does that tell me? I think we have a long way to go and maybe with the effect of climate change we have left it too late. I am trying hard to stay positive about the future and holding a vision in my mind of a world where we live in peace and work together in peace and respect each other knowing that we all have a part to play and that these parts can be different for each of us.
So let’s see what 2021 brings. Happy New Year to you all!
Restrictions in our lives over the last few months have enabled us to look deep inside ourselves. We have been able to spend time looking at the way we live and start to make changes. We have slowed down and are able to enjoy our days much more and in better ways. Rushing around has come to a halt. There is no pressure to do things quickly and decisions have not been rushed. Some of us have found new hobbies and leisure activities and many of us have also found a different purpose to our lives.
So how has my life changed during these last few months? First of all I have been able to finish several projects which have been hanging around for up to a few years so that is a very good thing. This has enabled me to start new projects like making a scrapbook of the changes in my garden through the seasons. I have taken photos of each plant as it came into bloom, noted the visitors, the birds, bees and butterflies. This has been absorbing and has given me a lot of joy.
I have worked with Reiki and other healing modalities much more and have got back into a daily session of meditation with Reiki. I have also started to train others to Level 3 which is something I have always enjoyed. The sharing of knowledge gained over the last 40 years or more is something I want to share so that others can also find out more about who they really are.
This is a time of regeneration if you like to call it that. Chaos comes first as structure falls but then rebuilding starts in a new way with more consideration for how we live. That is what I hope and am doing my part to help. What changes to your lives have happened during the last few months?
A full moon, a lunar eclipse and a Saturn/Pluto conjunction all at once. That is really something. My astrology knowledge is rather rusty but I do know these combinations are going to bring in change. We could be leaving behind all our ideas that are now outdated and bring in new ideas. Pluto is about transformation and not just on a personal level but on the collective level. Life is going to get very interesting.
But I want to write about looking at the bigger picture. All the news is about the fires in Australia. However, a lot of South America, North America, Africa and Europe is also on fire. You can take a look at the NASA maps which show all the current areas of fire. There are also earthquakes and floods in other parts of the world. All of these fires are causing pain as people and animals are dying and homes are lost. Earthquakes also cause these kinds of losses as do floods. All disasters are painful to us especially when there is a loss of life, both human and animal.
There have been huge disasters in the life of our planet. Think about the dinosaurs who became extinct possibly due to a meteorite hitting earth. There are stories of great floods as well. The news media make the most of what they see as newsworthy and often twist the truth or exaggerate it to make it sound worse. But good does come out of disasters eventually. Already new leaves are sprouting on the trees burnt in the bush fires. People will be looking at how to rebuild their lives and look at ways of living so they are safe. They might look at the way they live and change it to make it easier to live with their environment. They may learn to oppose schemes that harm the environment like fracking and coal mining or the felling of large swathes of forest or selling the water to companies only wanting to make more money.
I have friends in these countries where there are large fires and where there are floods so I am involved on an emotional level. But I can see that good will come out of this and there will be change, change for the better too. The human race has gone too far in exploiting the earth we live on and we have to look at the way we live, eat and look at what we buy and how it is made. We read of buildings collapsing in countries where cheap clothes are made and there are no restrictions on buildings. Lives are lost when this happens and these people are often some of the poorest in the world. Look at the way our climate is changing and think about how you live. Look at the larger picture around the world not just your own community.
This last week or two has shown people working together to try to make politicians change their minds and realise that climate change is important. In some areas we have already seen good results from this and the subject of climate change has become important where before it was ignored.
I learned many years ago that trying to do something important like making changes in the world around me, was much harder on my own. If others joined me then we got results. But this applies to so many other things, like helping the elderly, the homeless, those with disabilities and so on. One person alone won’t change things although change does start with you, yourself. It needs a lot of people to make change happen.
So finding others who think and feel the same way is important. I am always very pleased when I meet new people, if I find they think the same way as I do, as someone once said ‘we sing from the same hymnbook’!
But first of all we have to rid ourselves of the conditioning from our childhood and further back too, and the conditioning of our current lives. It is easy to just go along with everything but when things get really bad and you wonder why, then that is the time to change and become who you really are, not the conditioned human being generated by years of abuse and conditioning.
I am in the process of listening and watching the movie, ‘Time of the Sixth Sun’. I am finding that so far, much of what is being said is something that I have known for some time but have been unable to do anything about. But we have to make change happen and together we can do this so find out who thinks like you do and get together to make those changes,
It has been a long hot dry summer but the last couple of weeks have brought us some rain which has been very good for the garden. One day last week I opened the door, as I do every day, to let in the fresh air and to give thanks for all around me. This particular morning was different than the previous ones. It was cooler and fresher but there was also a distinctive feel and smell of the coming autumn. It’s not something I find easy to put into words but the feel and smell is something I recognise and know that autumn is on its way.
Looking back at the days of summer I see lots of flowers, their wonderful colours still there for the coming days. I noticed the number of birds too. I have a large thick hedge at the top of my garden and it has been home to several broods of birds, blackbirds, sparrows and robins. It has been a wonderful experience to watch them grow into adult birds. This last week a sparrowhawk visited as well. Luckily all the smaller birds were safe in the hedge and surrounding bushes.
I have also noticed the large number of bees visiting the flowers. But many of the flowers are there specifically for that purpose, to attract the bees. There are not so many now but they are still coming finding other plants attractive when their favourite ones have finished flowering.
There has been a large number of different butterflies visiting the flowers especially the buddleias which are commonly known as butterfly bushes. I have also seen damselflies and dragonflies whizzing around the garden but not often settling for photos! The plum tree and the brambles (which are not really wanted as they stop other plants from growing) have done exceptionally well and I have lots of fruit in my freezer. There were so many plums that I have been giving them to neighbours. Someone said it must be the fifth year as you get an abundant crop every five years.
But what I have noticed the most is the abundance of everything. There has been wonderful colour, and food for everything that comes into the garden, and watching the birds trying to get the blackberries and plums has been entertaining at times.
So now the season is changing and there will be different things to watch and to do as well. But my main thought at this point in time is ‘Abundance!’
It has been a roller coaster of a week. But what can you expect. There was a Blue Blood Supermoon on Wednesday with all the things that a full moon brings into your life. And it is Imbolc, or Candlemas or Brighid’s Day whatever you prefer to call it.
But there are definitely signs of spring around. Hazel catkins, snowdrops, pussy willows and lots of other spring bulbs pushing through the earth as well as loads of buds getting fatter each day. The birds are singing well too.
It is also that time of the year when I start to spring clean and give away any unwanted items. It also clears away any old energies especially negative ones that clutter the air around me. This is even better this year as I hope to move to a nicer place quite soon and that was a part of the roller coaster ride this week, looking at a possible new home. I had time to sit on a train looking at the landscape around me. The day I travelled out was a cold wintry day. The fields were covered in a heavy white frost and had a beauty of their own. It looked as if some of the water on the marshes was frozen but the ducks and other birds were still there. Coming back the sun shone until I got back here when there was a flurry of snow and hail showers. The changing weather never ceases to amaze me. One day the sun can be shining very warmly while the next day or even a few hours later it can be snowing!
But change is what life is about. If there were no changes we would get bored and live a tedious life. Change is what makes other things happen, sometimes for the better and other times not so but change is a part of life. Changing the world is different. To change the world we need to change ourselves first to what we want the world to be. Its no good complaining about litter if you leave litter yourself. So change is important. The earth shows us this as we see the snowdrops appearing in the ground. They have changed during the winter months from a little round bulb into something beautiful when they appear above the ground. How wonderful is this?
This week has been an amazing week for unusual weather. On Thursday there was what has been called a superstorm with hailstones as big as golf balls and flash floods in unexpected places. Travel was brought to a halt as landslides carried away the railway lines and schools were flooded bringing a halt to education for several days.
Cars were damaged by the hailstones and gardens trashed. The power was put out in several places including supermarkets and there was even a small tornado.
In the US, wild fires rage destroying property and woodland and fleeing animals have to find new homes.
What is all this telling us? It seems to me as if there are lots of small wake-up calls going on here. It is only when tragedy strikes that people start to see life in a different way and look at how they live their lives. Our world has become greedy and very materialistic and we need to change our ways of living. If you have had damage from these storms, look at your life and see what you need to change. Nature is more powerful than any huge banking consortium! This weeks photo is of a river in North Wales, not in full flood, but showing its power nonetheless.
Walking the Druid Path 