An unwanted phonecall wrenched me out of a deep sleep this morning. It was the pushy gal from a website ranking company, trying hard to get our business. Listen, Sister, you will never get my business, OR on my good side by calling me a 6:15 am, especially after a late night of fun and frolic with the family. This was how I rocketed to consciousness today, on this, the shortest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere. Damned if I did (get up after a short night) or certainly damned if I didn't (by falling back to sleep into the eyeball tiring world of the heavy dream state) I chose to throw back the covers and slam my feet to the floor, much to the happiness of Tank, who gets his kibble first thing in the morning. Happy Flocking Winter Solstice.
I may have been raised a "sort-of" Christian (no dogma, just exposure) but on the Solstice, my true soul tug comes from the mystic and private celebration of Mother Earth's miracles. I will certainly NOT be dancing in the woods but on this day that marks the beginning of Winter, I want to stop and thank our Home for being patient with the thoughtless beings that somehow have come to think that they have Dominion Over All on this magical blue marble. My prayers go up to the heavens to let the Healing begin.
We came to this magical place over four and a half years ago and it was not the house that called to me back then; it was the tableau through the wall of windows that told me that I was Home. I saw the "lay of the land" that I had been searching for when we began this adventure and said, "this is it", locking in the promise. We took a big gamble, moving ourselves up here before selling our small suburban rancher overlooking Highway 24 but we just knew that this was where we needed to be. We took on the responsibility of being the caretakers of this special living, breathing place and have not regretted one moment of this amazing change in our city-bred lives. We have completed the circle begun by our grandparents, who were either born in the foothills of the Sierra or who came here from Europe, for a better life, before moving to Oakland. We recognized the significance of being Home, again.
I do not take this responsibility lightly. I made a promise to Mother Earth that I would take care of this land and keep it as a place for my grandchildren to come to understand Nature. Whatever transpires in the crazy, crowded and angry parts of the world, there is a sanctuary here. From this place, I send up my prayers to heal bodies, souls and our planet.
There is a tall Christmas Tree in our living room, which is the second "pruning" from a living being that is still growing in the Intentional Forest of a neighbor's tree farm, down the road. It is covered with tiny ornaments that mark the years of our lives in a tradition that comes from Germany and a small part of my family history. It is a pagan thing and I am fine with that.
The most important thing to me, right now, is that my family has come together to celebrate this Northern Hemisphere Winter Holiday (I will never forget being in New Zealand in December, witnessing preparations for celebrating the Summer Solstice and Christmas cook-outs on the beach!). We are grateful and lucky and happy to be together. Heck, we have a new, tiny canine member of our extended family in the form of a Chihuahua by the name of Myles who came all of the way from Connecticut to hang with his new (and much taller) buddy and teacher, Tank. In honor of all of this, I think that it is only fitting to string some popcorn on our beloved Sasha's sleeping Dogwood.
I wish you joy, however you celebrate the Solstice. Send some prayers up to heal our Home and heal the hearts of the folks that have forgotten that this is our home. In my garden, there is a sign that says that our grandchildren do not inherit this earth from US but that we are borrowing it from THEM. Amen.
Merry Christmas.
