I tend to think that these blog entries should always be on time. They should just arrive promptly with the start of each month. Sometimes they do but more often it seems these days they take time to happen. 
  Every thing has a season and a time. Nature has it's own clock and of course clocks and calendars are the inventions of human kind. There are sun and moon calendars and time depends upon what zone you live in. What would happen if there were no clocks or digital time keepers? Well we would have to look to the movements of the heavens as our ancestors did. Would we only know the passages of night and day and the seasons or would we learn to measure the shadows from sunlight rising and fading or mark the positions of the stars?
This month on the 20th we will have the Vernal equinox. The sun will rise and set directly in the East. The Winter ends and gives way to Spring! Winter the season of Death, when cold winds blow and light is scarce, when animals and humans take refuge in their shelters and some depart for warmer climes has wearied our spirits and taxed our bodies. In times past many would not make it through the season due to famine, lack of shelter and disease. In these times we have seen a terrible blight where many have not survived. We have seen the effects of climate change and how much we need to reevaluate and work hard to build sustainability. We see what cracks there are in not only our infrastructure but in our communities as arguments arise over matters of race, gender and morality. Popular icons are challenged and even removed. We need to have these conversations to move forward but how can they be done in a respectful and fair way? At last there are vaccines being administered to many and the promise of gathering with friends and family seems ever more real! It will not be a sudden or easy emergence but with the warmer months we will see a return to some of the comforts we have been longing for. I dream of seeing the ones I have missed sharing hugs, smiles and tears. I imagine walking through town and visiting the places that I've been so removed from and realizing fully how much all of this truly means to me. 
     
   On the 8th we celebrated International Women's Day 
   The 12th saw the ringing in of the Mexican New Year 
   Tomorrow the 14th will be daylight savings time unless you are in Japan, India or China and do not set your clocks forward 
    The 17th will be Saint Patrick's Day so get out your green and dance with the leprechauns! 
     The 20th marks the Vernal Equinox hello Spring! 
     The 28th will be Palm Sunday and Passover begins
    
     May your holy days be blessed and all of your days 
    
    "To everything turn turn turn turn a time to every purpose under heaven" 
        "https://youtu.be/W4ga_M5Zdn4"

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  So here we are in 2021! It's going to take some time for that to sink in right? Winter here in Vermont has been rather mild til now. As I write this passage there is lovely thick blanket coating the landscape outside my window and I believe more white stuff on the way soon. I am thinking...what could be sleeping beneath it? What will be revealed when the frost melts off and the Spring shoots break through from the soil preparing for the ripening of new life? Will we feel the difference then?
  As the world continues to suffer through this terrible pandemic, political upheaval, climate crisis, racial and gender issues, economic disparity, struggles for religious freedoms, wars...Ball of confusion! In this new time how can we work together to create changes? What new discoveries will we see? How do we bring renewal to a tired and ragged world? 
  So many questions with yet no answers yet I believe they will come in time for all things change! In all areas of our live all spheres of influences we are seeing incredible diversity represented! With so many voices being acknowledged we know the old molds will be broken and as time goes on nothing will be the same! Many speak of a desire to return to the way things were before this virus. Is that what we really want? No it is high time to leave behind the ruins of a broken world and rise to meet the birth of a new unknown one 

 As we slip into Winter 
As we dig out our layers to keep out the cold 
As we prepare for the holy days of our traditions 
 We are painfully aware that this time is like no other 
Maybe you are doing ok in this terrible time 
taking the days as an opportunity to rest
and catch up on family time or neglected projects...
Maybe you are feeling as I do exhausted
and riding out an emotional rollercoaster
praying the ride will end soon! 
 However these days find you I hope that you can see a light
to touch your heart
and kindle a fire that will carry you through the season 
From my heart to yours 
Peace 

 

 A beautiful September to you all! While it may be sad to see the Summer go early Autumn holds it's own treasures 
  As I write this it is a sunny Sunday afternoon in Vermont. The leaves are just starting to show some changes and some creatures are making their way to warmer climes or burrows to wait out the cold months. 
 Noting small changes in a pandemic world is vital to our sense of being. For some these changes are bigger as families, children and teachers prepare for the school year with hopes and mixed feelings. If you are living in an area that has been hit hard by the virus and all it encompasses you may be considering or setting up home schooling. Growing up in Queens New York in the 70s like many my only option was to attend public school. The alternative options were unknown to my family. In times such as these we must consider the value of alternatives as never before. The world we have known seems stripped from us but when the dust settles what can we build in it's place? Living and growing in this strange new world takes effort. As someone challenged by chronic health issues I can easily empathize with the feelings of being overwhelmed by having so much to do and so many ways to have to adapt. My advice? Pace yourself, however and whenever you can. The work you are doing now will have good and lasting results. Whether you work alone or with others all that you do has meaning and substance.

  This month for me holds great meaning as I returned to this state and this town three years ago on the 28th and two years later my husband Malcolm and I were married on that same date! Marriage like any life long commitment is a labour of love for which the rewards are great and sustaining. Maybe you are preparing for some kind of renewal yourselves. Some involve loved ones returning or businesses reopening. Farmers begin to harvest for the Fall. Maybe for some there will be a revival of spirit or a creative drive. The Jewish New Year  Rosh Hashanah falls on the 18th and the Autumnal Equinox arrives on the 20th. As one door closes another opens. Let us work together for the good of all in this new time.

  Do you keep a dream journal? In these times where we find ourselves restricted in the outside world our inner worlds may be opening like never before! I have heard and read of many people experiencing increased activity in this area. Now is a good time to record and explore these realms if you haven't already. Perhaps like me you have more so in the past and have come to neglect this important practice over time. Dreams are our link to the spiritual mind. They can be a doorway to divine messages, prophetic visions, inspirational, transformative, illuminating, a window to the soul. 
  Tribal cultures understood the sacred value of these journeys and shared them either around the fire or with perhaps a elder or shaman. They were an important part of daily life. Many spiritual teachings see this world as part of a great dream. Sufism the mystical branch of Islam places high importance on dreams, as did the peoples of many ancient civilizations. From The Veddas to the Bible they held a special place with those who were able to interpret them They were held in high regard and in some cases greatly feared for the power of such knowing. Yet we in the modern world with rare exceptions of those whose traditions continue to teach the inclusion of dreams have become so caught up in the doings of our outer world that our inner worlds have been shelved and largely forgotten. How often do we when asked if we remembered what we saw in our dreams reply "I don't remember" How often do we fail to see a recurring dream as a wake up call? How often do we recall and place importance on nightmares and think little of the metaphorical meanings they reveal that might help us in our struggles. How often do we have a beautiful dream yet let it dissolve in the dawn without even so much as a thank you to our creator for this gift? For dreams are indeed a gift and how would we treat the giver? 
  Here is our chance to return to this place. When the inner is appreciated the outer will follow. 

  It's another day on planet Earth! I am sitting in my living room in the little capitol city of Vermont. It's a sunny day, another hot one here! I hope wherever you are you having a good day. My heart goes out to all who are suffering and grieving in these days.
   We humans are experiencing a crisis like no other in our lifetimes! 
  The planet is in turmoil thanks to a corrupt cabal of world powers. Yes the lunatics have taken over the asylum! 
   As I have stated so many many times before here our treatment of the environment has led to a place of emergency! Nonetheless a tiny thing like this virus has caused even the war machine to grind it's terrible wheels to a halt. Factories are closed, fewer carbon emitting machines pollute the air and water. Without these factors we see nature returning! The skies are blue in places where they have been shrouded in a thick haze for decades! Even the Himalayas are clear on the horizon! There are so many stories like this. So what can we do as humans? Here we are holed up in our homes. Some are relieved finding themselves with more time away from demanding work schedules and with more time for family and the things they could not fit in before. For others it is a period marked by fear and isolation. For all there are challenges beyond that of which we are accustomed to. As it has been said we are an adaptable species and we must remember this! Still we wonder how can life continue to grow and sustain us in this so-called New Normal? 
  What have you done today to feel alive? Did you greet the sun? Did you dance? Did you sing? Did you play with your kids or pets? Did you make art? Did you make love? Did you take a walk if you were able to? Did you discover anything new in or around you? Did you reach out to someone who needed just a friendly voice? Did you dream? Did you pray? 
   Remember we are still here as a human family. We are seeing both great division in political and social circles. At the same time while being united in the global effort to eradicate this plague we are overturning history. Nothing will be as we have known. What kind of world can we create if we learn to overcome our prejudices and embrace our differences? We can no longer ignore the harm these attitudes of apathy and violence have done to our lives and our world. We must change all this! Even if the virus were to be gone soon returning to business as usual is only inviting more danger. This we know. We must see beyond our own fences. Let us take this time of quarantine to slow down, listen and learn with heart and spirit 
Amen! , Aho! , Make it So!