Some Advent Musings from Jan
As we enter the season of Advent, I have found myself reflecting on the themes of waiting and expectation rather differently this year. At the Winter Solstice we celebrate the return of the light as the sun rises once again after the longest night. In the Christian tradition, it is a time of preparation for the return of the light in the form of the Nativity. And in the time of COVID?
We will all have our own unique experiences of living through this difficult year and the Wild Wisdom community has been unable to gather and offer the usual safe and sacred space for reflection and support. I hope that we have all found some inner and outer resources to help us as we wander in this rather unpredictable wilderness, and that we will have the chance to meet in person next year.
I am trying (not always successfully, I must confess) to allow this to be a season of contemplation, releasing things that no longer serve me well in my life just as the trees outside my window know they must shed their leaves….and to be patient. Whilst I cannot call COVID a blessing in any way, the restrictions it is imposing on my normally hyperactive life are bringing me more into harmony with the natural world as it slows down and draws inwards for winter. Nature knows patience, that this time is indeed a time of preparation and expectation, and that the light will return. As Shelley wrote: ‘If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?’
After our last gathering at Juliette’s, I wrote in our journal:
‘every prayer, every meditation, every moment of mindfulness, each loving thought, all our explorations on our different spiritual paths – it is all sacred work, and that work is desperately needed by our world today’
I believe that is true more than ever, and I wish us all blessings on whatever path we are currently walking.
And if you are looking for a little inspiration and have not already visited Sam’s beautiful new website, you will find it at: https://wildspiritcommunity.com
I leave you with my love, and also with a poem that feels in tune with now. Jan x
“Sweet Darkness” by David Whyte
When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone
no part of the world can find you.
Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.
There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.
The dark will be your womb
tonight.
The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.
You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in
Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
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This, and other wonderful poems by David Whyte, is available in The House of Belonging (1999) and River Flow (2012)
