Solstice

Pacha and Yani surfing last weekend

beautiful beach sky

Slow Mother Blog  

Solstice

Today we have ‘turned the corner’ of winter in our part of the world. It is a beautiful clear blue-sky day today and I convince myself that there is tiny increase in the warmth of the sun and length of the day since yesterday! I excitedly contemplate sorting out my saved seeds and planning the next stage of the vegie garden!

In the back of my mind I’ve also been thinking about candlenight in Japan –  seeing, in my minds eye, many friends getting together with their families and communities , switching off the lights and switching on their dreams, prayers and visions of hope and renewal.  The image of the typhoon moving through the south of Japan just before candlenight, reminded me of the forces that are so much more powerful than mere humans, despite our futile attempts to control them.  It is such an important time for Japan and I pray that the people’s movement to let go of dangerous nuclear power is successful…

...important to have a clothesline...

Here, in Australia, we have had a few evenings cooking damper on a bonfire outside, or simmering soup on the pot-belly stove inside. On the weekend we’ll gather with our friends on the beach to celebrate solstice together. We are determined to nurture our connections with life – even on these shorter days. We’ve also been trying to remember that we should be ‘doing’ less and resting more in this time of year – but somehow life is still too hectic.

Pacha - cross-country racing

It’s partly the juggling of Pacha and Yani’s seemingly endless activities: dance concerts, athletics carnival, talent show, singing eisteddfod, along with competing in state running and surfing competitions – all within the next month!  Its busy being their fulltime manager - along with repairing broken water pipes, getting the car fixed, managing the garden, caring for Ollie, cooking and cleaning (including hand-washing – the washing machine has stopped)…In the spaces in between all this I get to spend time on the most important thing of all – working toward a global paradigm shift…

Over the past couple of months I’ve been working to support Helena Norberg-Hodge (leader of the localisation movement) and ISEC’s work.  It has been so intellectually stimulating and invigorating to be witnessing the big, good ideas sweeping across the planet. As I watch the trending topics on facebook (and even on mainstream media) - the yearning for meaning, reconnection, a sense of authenticity and reality, the call for compassion – I sense that something is shifting in a good way. 

Despite feeling a little tired lately, I feel so very grateful – for everything! For being able to live a meaningful life - with freedom, with awareness of the beauty and joy that is there in every moment if we remember to look…