Bring it on!

 

Each year without fail, a lot of us go and look at psychic predictions, numerology forecasts, and astrological readings for the year ahead. We have an interest in knowing what’s coming in the hope of two things, i.e. it’ll be a good one, and to prepare for whatever’s coming.  

2019 was not the easiest year, we looked for respite and got hit with 2020 (which started off fairly well in my opinion), and then through to 2021 at which stage we were all praying for deliverance. In many cases, predictions were all about change, disaster and upheaval, and we’ve all had front seats to attest to this. In fact, science fiction became reality.

The disaster that was COVID19 in 2020 saw millions of people out of work, economies taking strain, people living in fear, and paranoia setting in.  Many of us lost loved ones to COVID19 and some of you, like me, got seriously ill and/or lost your income.

By 2021, we were fed up with restrictions and challenging authority, sometimes openly flaunting the law. Along with social distancing has come awkwardness, the discomfort of being around others, a lack of closeness we didn’t even realise. Man is a social creature and the very foundations of community were rocked. The mental and emotional repercussions are yet to be discovered.

Looking back, the pandemic hasn’t all been bad. We’ve had time to reconnect with our families whether in person or virtually. Things we’ve always put off we’ve finally got to (mostly), and we’ve been able to tap into our creativity or maybe just get some much-needed rest. I believe in many cases we’ve gotten in touch with our spirituality once again. We’ve begun to notice the greatness around us and be thankful for all we have. We were forcibly stopped from being hamsters on a wheel and chasing money took a back seat. These are good things.

However, we’re tired of having to live with this pandemic, the freedoms we’ve had to sacrifice, and the losses in whatever form they’ve taken. Whether you believe it’s a conspiracy, an alien invasion, Mother Earth delivering her centennial plague, or God bringing us back to mindfulness, every single human being worldwide has been affected in some way. We’re simply sick of the subject and ready to put it behind us.

 The hardships we’ve endured and the lessons learned are all in preparation for what lies ahead in 2022. In the past few years, humanity has been part of strange times and watched history unfold. Great historical change never comes easy and I am grateful to bear witness. There is a shift coming, when or what, we do not yet know but can only hope it is to our benefit.

We can look ahead to 2022 expecting more of the same and shrugging our shoulders with resignation. We can claim to know it all, and face others with arrogance and anger, or, we can forge ahead as a collective, standing up for what we believe in and striving to make the world a better place, standing tall and proud in who we are.

I have not yet looked at predictions for the year ahead and I’ll embrace whatever it holds.

Bring it on 2022!

Pic downloaded courtesy of happynewyearall.com

The 5-second F.A.R.T rule before letting your animal out

 

We live in a civilized society, or so we led to believe, but how easily do fly off the handle and lose our temperament at the slightest provocation from some meaningless stranger?

Few people know that of the 21,000 murders South Africa manages on average per year 75% are by people that know each other and the majority of those are spousal or intimate relationship related. Crimes of passion are an understandable dilemma where cheating and deceit or alcohol and drugs are often the spark that lights the fire.

But strangers on the road, on Social Media or in public only get a kick out of our emotional immaturity when their behaviour gets us all worked up and in a rage.

 As a supposedly enlightened community professing to be advanced by means of our wisdom and knowledge of the human condition, we would be better served to observe the 5 second FART rule. That is to say that before we react we should take 5 seconds to breathe deeply and remind ourselves of who we are, what we stand for and reconsider what we've learned in our meditation.

If we are active spiritual practitioners, then reading, contemplation and meditation should be a part of our daily schedule. Apart from the task of silencing that chattering mind, meditation also serves to offer reflection.

Reflection on how to get from where we are to where we wish to be- psychologically. As the the eightfold path of Yoga for example teachers us to move from Yama to Nirvana.

To master our EQ (emotional quotient) automatically makes us nicer people and a nicer person gets what they want a lot easier. The pen is mightier than the sword.

Like Aesop's Fable about the sun and the wind remind us. One day the sun and the wind challenge each other to remove a man's cloak. The wind went first. It began to blow and blow, Harder, stronger, but the man only clung on tighter, wrapping the cloak around himself. When it was the sun turn, it simply shone consistently upon the man until he became so hot he chose to remove the cloak himself.

We know that we attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. It's just that in the moment, this wisdom seems to fail us and we burst out in a vitriolic rage that gets us nowhere.  

It is more powerful to empower others to make choices than to force them.

To win them over to your way of thinking than to over power with authority or attempt to embarrass them and often end up embarressing ourselves instead.

The 5 second rule is self empowering since your brain is super fast in its processing. 

Just 5 seconds are enough to send your emotions to the back of the bus while you recall your highest version of yourself to the drivers seat.

This silly acronym should help to remind you of your triggers. As you realise them bubbling to the surface, act not. As you notice...

F for frustration

A for anger

R for resentment

(Means you need a)

T for time out.

Then say the opposite to what you would have said. The more ridiculous the better. 

Sun Tau in his timeless classic -The Art of War states that the most powerful strategy of warfare has and always will be-

The element of surprise.

To end with another well known almost cliché,

It's better to loose the battle and win the war.

While this works just as well in the domestic environment, it is probably best practiced on the public first.

'Tis the reason to be jolly!

December means Christmas for many, Litha for those of us living south of the equator, and Yuletide for those to the north. The colours for Christmas; red, green, silver, and gold; are also used to celebrate Yule and Litha.  

Most of us were raised in a belief system other than those that fall within paganism and celebrated many religious holidays and we know the celebration of Christmas was aligned to the pagan festival of Yule possibly to either mollify or convert pagans to Christianity at the time.

Whatever our religious beliefs, we are inundated with decorations, music, movies, and messages about Christmas. We can’t help but be affected by the festivities. They often bring back memories of family and warmth, sometimes loneliness and fond reminiscing of those crossed over, or perhaps a longing for close ties which we may not have. And we all secretly wish for a Christmas miracle of our very own.

Although Christmas has become more about fun, festivities, gift swapping and feasting than about the birth of Jesus Christ, during this period people tend to be more generous towards each other, to those less fortunate or those who are different. We are more likely to engage in friendly conversation with a stranger and to be cheerful and kinder than usual. It’s a time when we look past the human form and we see the spirit of the person in front of us instead of the gender, race, or sexual orientation. We forget our bigotry and are more forgiving and tolerant. We see the Spirit in the person.

As pagans, we live this daily, or at least try to, we understand that skin colour, the shape of your eyes, or where you come from can be likened to the different homes we live in. Some are big, some are small, some are neglected and some are decorated and maintained. It all depends on the Spirit housed within.

Pagans strive for tolerance of others’ beliefs even when they are vastly different from our own and we know that judging others is not really what we’re here to do – unless it is. Each of us is here to learn and teach, to experience and evolve in some way, all on separate journeys.  We understand the spirit of giving and forgiveness, and that everything affects us as a collective.

This is what the rest of the world becomes at Christmas time.

What’s my secret wish for a Christmas miracle?

That we treat each other the way we do at Christmas, all year. 

*Photo by Any Lane from Pexels

To do list

 It is said that the average person reads two books a year.

And the average CEO reads three books a month.

December is always a welcome break to get into a book without as many interruptions. 

So here is a short list of some classics, not all novels, most are philosophical to one or other degree, but they will all have you rethinking your quest for the coming year. 

 

The Druid King - Norman Spinrad 

                                                                        
Stillness is the Key - Ryan Holiday

The Prophet Kalil Gibran

The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz

The Way of the Warrior Erwin McManus

The Art of War - Sun Tsu

Rules for a Knight - Ethan Hawke

How to Master the Art of Selling - Tom Hopkins

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill

Bagavad Gita - Vedic Masterpiece

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

The Art of Happiness – Epicurus

Essential Epicurus– Epicurus

Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens (Most popular novel of all time)

 

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

 

Let us know in the comments which of these you've read. 

Feel free to add your favorites too.

 

Earth Blessings

Plants are wonderful creations. 

Man and animal have used them for millennia to heal, for flavour,  pleasure, and our well-being. 

After years of ignorance, disinterest, and profit, we have reached a place where we understand that we can't continue to decimate and abuse the gifts Mother Earth gave us. Deforestation is largely driven by greed, or for living space as populations increase. 

We sadly don't appreciate nature like our ancestors did. Think of stories from older relatives reminiscing about pickling, canning, and drying fresh produce they had grown themselves. Gifting, swapping, or storing those for colder seasons was standard practice when homemade was best and there was little variety of tinned goods. The shops were far, or maybe gran didn't drive and hubby put in a six-day week, shops closed early on Saturday and never opened on Sundays.

The modern age crept up and jobs opened up to more women. Big business began making more foodstuff available in cans and ready-to-eat meals. Microwaves were suddenly a necessity in many homes. Time became precious and healthy food less so. 

Fruit trees were seen as messy and time-consuming to manage, and in this country at least, people began getting rid of them. As children, we would climb the neighbours' walls and steal a peach or a plum, and run away when they came out of their home shouting about giving us a "hiding" (which I think is a term almost exclusively used in South Africa). Nearly every house in South Africa had a fruit tree whether you lived in the suburbs or in the more "upmarket" areas in a township. We knew who had which trees, whose yard we could get in and out of quickly, and which would have the neighbour showing up at our house to tell our parents that we were stealing their fruit - and getting that "hiding" for it. Still, it was worth it then and a lot of us have fond memories as a result.

Our municipalities do an annual prune, where they cut the branches of trees to make space around power cables. One day there would be a beautiful tree and the next day a big gaping hole in the middle or top of its foliage. This saddened me.

Then I noticed how the trees never let it get the better of them. They healed. Some started sprouting branches at the bottom or in the middle of their trunks, they became fuller at the base and continued growing up. A willow tree can grow after a lightning strike has toppled it. It's truly remarkable!

I have something akin to awe when it comes to trees. They provide life, shade, food, and housing for many creatures, including us. Trees are sturdy, resilient, watchful, and adaptable. They watch as decades and centuries go by, bearing witness to life and death, seasons past, and joy and sorrow. Like dinosaurs and birds, trees have been around since prehistoric times. Imagine if they could speak.

It is heartening to see the old ways come to the fore once again, and great that there are forums, social media, and websites where we can discuss what trees or plants are best for specific uses like the best suited to your garden, for a besom, or a set of runes. 

We've begun showing respect, care, and love towards nature. We communicate our thanks and appreciation when removing something. There's a renewed affinity with nature and each other. 

Whatever life throws at us, no matter how tough, we can learn and adapt. The last two years have been difficult for most, seemingly impossible for others. On the flip-side, this period has given much time to reflect and reconnect with nature. As a community, we are fortunate to have resources and skills (like meditation) to help us through it. When grounding, I picture people all over the world doing the same thing and all of us connecting at that moment. I often choose to emulate a tree when doing so with my roots reaching right down to the earth's core.

Patience, strength, determination, survival, dignity, humility, and at the same time pride in who you are. These are the properties of a tree worth emulating. 

Stand tall. Be true to yourself. Look within and acknowledge the strengths you hold. Adapt and build on your base if necessary. Nurture, take the time to nourish yourself too. Be kind without allowing others to cut you down or walk all over you. Rise again, stronger and when things get you down, as they sometimes do, look at your nearest tree, and remember...

Be like a tree.

Survive.

Thrive.

Tell your story.

Anger. Is it okay?

Society teaches us from a very young age to suppress our feelings unless they are positive. Even then it depends on the circumstances, culture, and whether it is deemed appropriate.

Boys don’t cry, tell your teacher about the bully, don’t show sadness, control your anger. We’ve heard these and other expressions used on a regular basis reinforcing the message that it’s not okay to feel or express ourselves openly. Often we are told to “toughen up” and carry on.

On the other hand, we all know those people that are just way too emotional, children don’t report bullying out of fear that it will get worse, and so on. If you’re familiar with chakras, you may point out here that these may be signs of either a blown or blocked root chakra.

This legacy is often carried with us into adulthood along with our other baggage causing various kinds of issues. We don’t know how to deal with a narcissistic colleague, a manipulative partner, the neighbour who oversteps boundaries, or our aunt who sits and cries about her abusive spouse, you know; the one she won’t leave.

I was pleasantly surprised to come across many Pagans when I moved to my new small-town home. Like me, most are quietly open about their beliefs, but unlike me, many of them are filled with anger. Mean, nasty, violent anger that shows itself for trivial occurrences stemming from deeper origins. I see it eating at them and getting in the way of their growth. It doesn’t matter what you’re angry about, if not channelled properly, it’s detrimental to your wellbeing.

For those of us that fall somewhere under the Pagan umbrella, chances are we’re peace-loving, but we’re also human, and let’s face it, when we’re angry, we struggle to meditate or do much of anything that benefits our greater good or that of the collective.

Society generally doesn’t like to make waves and this is particularly true of South Africans. We see the writing on the wall and let it happen. Is it fear, or complacency, or are we hoping someone else will deal with it? Then we get angry. We get angry and we don’t know what to do with it.

Is it okay to get angry? Yes, undoubtedly. Without it we wouldn’t learn to place boundaries, we wouldn’t stand up for ourselves or others. Getting angry has brought about change through protest action, sanctions, and even sadly, war. It has prevented global companies from destroying our fauna and flora, it has stopped human rights violations. It has taught respect.

Each of us is capable of extreme behaviour and though we may be loath to admit it, each of us is capable of harming another. If we are taught to deal with our anger through communication, through somehow using it to be creative, or even having a place to vent (I’ve heard of companies who have “scream rooms”, or punching bags) we may be better equipped.

What works for you?