Spring Equinox Reflection & Invitation

I stepped outside this morning, feeling slow falling snowflakes calling to me. Their fluffy crystals carried a pervasive silencing so the birds could be heard more clearly. The frozen ground sparkled, pregnant with light. The sun slipped between clouds as it made its slow crawl over the spine of the mountainside. My skin continued to catch fluffy sky crystals with fleeting delight as each melted shortly after contact. Enveloped by the green of juniper and the brown of scrub oak, a subtle warmth snaked its way into my heart. But this was no sunlight, it was the double-helixed entwining of love and grief coursing with golden wonder. Like the green shoot miraculously and diligently presenting at each spring, 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒 𝒷𝑜𝒹𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝓅𝑒 𝓊𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝒷𝓁𝑒. I've been watching, the way a cat might watch a bird with relentless patience, the unfolding of global events amidst the arrival of this virus. A virus whose ancestral lineage is older than humanity’s, and participated in the dreaming and shaping of all of us into being. For we have evolved alongside life whose forms and expressions are endless. I can't help but carry reverence and just the right amount of caution for such powerful organisms. They long to live just as we long to live, and they uphold 𝒸𝒽𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓃𝒾𝒸 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓉𝒽𝓈 that promise cyclic passages of compost and gestation. 𝒯𝓇𝓊𝓉𝒽𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝓁𝓊𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓋𝓊𝓁𝓃𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒷𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓃𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓃 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒. 𝒮𝑜𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒹𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒾𝒹 𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓁, 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓈 𝒷𝓊𝒷𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓊𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓏𝑒𝒹 𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝒽𝒶𝒷𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓃𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃. Gorge themselves through the consumption of other peoples lives and lands. I have seen beautiful reflections on what this virus is teaching humanity, as well as ghastly projections that deny our co-arising with such entities. As if the industrialization and colonization of the world hasn't informed this viral being, and its need to adapt to meet these times with its own particular genius. I can't help but acknowledge how, with such elegance, this organism's presence and way of relating exposes the wounds of industrial, colonizing culture: fear of death, aversion to grief, the absence of earth-centered community, denial of our role in viral/bacterial/fungal shaping, toxic agricultural practices, an absence of psychospiritual resilience and maturity, to name a few. This virus is shaking the delusional foundation of imposed control. 𝒩𝑜 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝑒𝓍𝑒𝓂𝓅𝓉 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝒻𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓈𝓎𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓂 𝒹𝒾𝑒 𝑜𝒻𝒻, 𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓁𝑜𝑔𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓅𝓈𝑒, 𝓅𝑜𝓁𝒾𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝓊𝓅𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝒶𝓁, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒. Long before this particular viral expression made its way across continental "borders," millions of people (human and other-than) within our global community were and continue to feel the effects of industrialized nations sustaining themselves at their expense. Industrialized nations that intentionally destabilize other nations through war, sanctions, political terrorism, and "resource" extraction, among other atrocities. Chanting can be heard from the hungry: "consume, consume, consume." For change to come, I believe we must all learn to walk the humming edge of uncertainty. That sharpened blade in service to life and death. A blade that, as David Whyte would say, is so sharp 𝒾𝓉 𝒸𝓊𝓉𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓉𝑜𝑔𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉. 𝑀𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝓋𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 in these times is to be curious about your relationship with not only this viral angelic monster (monstrum - divine portent), but also with the soft belly of your existence. What does it stir within you, and what have you cast onto it that could be reclaimed? To allow yourself to be in-formed and re-shaped by the precious gift of uncertainty and vulnerability that hums beneath the illusion of imposed control fed to you by current cultural structures. A vulnerability that is relationally tethered to the vulnerable, soft belly of all life. That your compassion, courage, and radical honesty might grow so vast that each decision you make is arduously considering those whose bodies make your existence possible, and the implications of your decisions. All of life wants to live. But if our fear overrides our ability to recognize the whole and our participation in its shaping, then we shall never be able to dream vibrant and impossible dreams because we shall flee from Mystery's resounding and impeccable call to live in the soil of uncertainty - 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝒾𝓁 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝑜𝓊𝓁𝓈 𝓈𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔. Please do not return to business as usual. Please do not fall back asleep. Let your tender and intrepid heart pull you toward the love song of your life that is a gift and medicine for not only these times but all who come after us. 𝐵𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒮𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐸𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓃𝑜𝓍 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓁!

And should you long for co-dreaming and guide support, I’m here. 💜