On the wheel of the year, we have just passed Imbolc, the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. I feel so alive at this time of year, perhaps because this season includes my birthday, but also because I feel the shifting light as a bubbling up of energy and hope.
When icy winds blow the rain sideways… when a rainbow bursts bright against a black cloud… when twilight lingers a little longer each evening… when the stars shine so clear and cold they feel like tiny snowflakes twinkling on your face… my heart fills with love for this planet that we are part of, spiralling through cycles and seasons and space with so much grace and beauty.
We had a mini holiday for my birthday and travelled through Western Victoria, learning more about indigenous seasons and wisdom. We stayed on the lands of the Gunditjmara, the windy coast around Warrnambool, with spectacular views of the southern ocean and abundant wildlife. And best of all natural hot springs!
My highlight was going on a cultural tour of the living landscape around Budj Bim and the aquaculture systems at Tae Rak (Lake Condah). I first heard about this place from the documentary The First Inventors and can highly recommend.
We came home via the beautiful mountain country around the Southern Grampians/Dunkeld, stopping to admire the spectacular rocky cliffs.
I love how holidays can reset us, body and spirit. For me it is being reminded how tiny I am in the vast scheme of landscape and time, while also gaining perspective by savouring the smallest details. And most importantly, being open enough to let it all in, to tenderise my heart and soften me.
The vast - endless sky, open horizons, infinite passing of clouds/weather/waves, ancient volcanoes, faces and traces of ancestors in rock
The subtle - sulphur tang of hot springs, tingle of wind on my cheeks, flavours of roasted winter vegetables, delicate wildflowers on mountain paths
The soft - muscles melting in the heat of the thermal springs, heart relaxing while listening to our Gunditjmara guide talk about loving country, eyes softening as I widen my gaze to the natural landscape and let go of my daily worries
Now I’m pondering how to bring this perspective home and keep hold of it in the coming months. Can I balance the vast with the mundane on a walk around the block? The subtle with the routine in a home cooked meal? The soft with the clinical as I work with other’s bodies and spirits.
These books are helping me hold onto hope and keep perspective:
Great art strives to convince us of what are, intellectually, very basic things: love today, don’t lose yourself to grudges, don’t feel singled out by sadness, let joy overwhelm you, don’t be afraid, resist bitterness, care less of what others think.
Such lessons are never complicated in themselves. It’s the remembering and the feeling that’s hard.
- The School of Life
Much love,
Emily
