Do Not Be Afraid...

[cedar_grove]

Winter unclenches its fists, stroked by spring breezes from the west.
The ocean opens itself to the keels of ships.
Cattle grow restless in the stable, we grow restless at our firesides,
and the white frost melts away from the grass.

At night the moon hovers over a sacred dance, which Aphrodite
leads as Graces and light nymphs follow her.
Now is the season for garlanding our hair with myrtle and flowers,
now is the time to rejoice with the happy earth.

--Horace

Accept your own inner seasons; they are as natural as those of the world around us.

Today's meditation made me chuckle just a little. After everything in the last few days - and after things, once embraced, began to fall once more into place - today's meditation seemed like somewhat of a timely reminder.

Do not be afraid to feel... these are the words that come to me as I read the words of the passage and the commentary with it. So many of the passages and commentaries have been speaking on the same thing, the coming of spring after the long dark of winter, instilling in us the remembrance of hope, the knowing that after all of the barren cold of winter warmth will return, that this - this timely reminder, on a more personal level, tells us that even in our hearts and souls we have seasons... and through those seasons, we should not be afraid of our hearts response to them. We should not let ourselves be afraid to feel.

Along with that comes a second thought, do not be afraid to communicate what you feel, which is different from wallowing in misery, just because you're having an off day, or driving people to distraction with silliness because you feel exceptionally joyful, but that honest communication of these things is a positive, life enhancing thing to do. Too often I think I have forgotten, or lost sight of the truths that I've just spoken.

Today, in spite of a hard day at work - the children were difficult today - I feel a certain peace. Someone at work commented that, "you feel better today." The sun has been warm, with a light breeze that has taken the edge off the temperature of earlier in the week. Assessments are finished for another 6 weeks, and I'm looking forward to being able to get back to some reading, some writing, perhaps even with my balcony doors open. There's a lot of junk still on my balcony, I'd like to get it cleared so that when it does get to be hotter I can sit out on the balcony, overlooking the green, and read or write with the laptop on the table there. Maybe even entertain, though with it being a small place, perhaps only one person at a time. It will be perfect for when Mir comes to visit thought... the two of us, sitting out there, enjoying the air... enjoying the sunshine... I look forward to that.

My inner seasons have definitely turned toward the spring. As in nature I expect there will be cold snaps here and there, but the forest of my heart and soul is blanketed by the beginning green of the shoots, and soon, goddess willing, will be carpeted with bluebells and daffodils, other spring flowers, as I move to embrace the beauty of my inner nature returning to life after the long cold and dark of winter.