Did you see, or have
You heard the awakening
Of our insect kin?
Hello Friends of Flying Needle! Happy Awakening of Insects!
- third vernal solar node -
Hope this finds you well during these challenging times!
Seasonal Musings & Reflections
It is a cool rainy morning here in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as I write this. Days are longer. Daffodils are blooming. Sparrows are singing. A hawk's cry cuts through the humid air. We have had typically variable early Spring days with temperatures widely swinging from cold mornings to balmy afternoons. March has not come in leonine this year. Though a tornado watch has just been issued so who knows what today (3/5) may bring. Perhaps I will see, or hear the awakening of insects once the rain clears. Have you encountered our cousins yet this season?
And while it's true that we never know what any day may bring, ceaseless change being the constant of our universe, there are times of greater unpredictability. We, my friends, seem to be living within one of those times. I started writing this newsletter just after the 2021 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since then we have seen increasing global destabilization due to climate change, oligarchic over-reach, a resurgence of fascism, and genocide. We are all touched by these shifts in exoteric and esoteric ways – on levels and in aspects that we perceive and those that we do not. As I have heard many folks say lately: Living through history is hard.
And yet, we are by no means the only folks to have done so. Our ancestors have lived through similar cycles and we are here as living answers to their prayers. The choice to connect to the cycles of the seasons – the terrestrial expression of the breath of the cosmos – is always available to us. We can be nourished by, and offer nourishment to the beauty of the natural world and thereby remember that we are not within nature, we are nature.
From the perspective of Chinese natural philosophy, we are an aspect of the expression of the union of heaven (that which is 'above') and earth (that which is 'below'). We are the yin/yang breathing of the universe in manifestation. This is as true for us as it is for all the processes and relationships that make up what we perceive as reality. This view is my primary source of strength and hope.
A view in this context is not simply a mental/conceptual framework, it is a relationship to experience which shapes perception, sensation, feeling, thought, and action.
It is this view that guides and orients my small contribution to the great work in service of the alleviation of suffering here on earth.
If there is anything that I can do to support you as a practitioner, or a friend during these challenging times, please don't hesitate to reach out.
May your Spring days be filled with beauty, mystery, and friendship!
May you and your kin feel both rooted and free!
May we walk in gratitude with our Ancestors!
May all being and becoming receive nourishment!
Remembering our
Connection to the breath
Of the Universe
Nourishes both
Us and all our relations.
Feel the Earth and breathe.
It is my sincere hope that you have found something of use in these words.
If you know folks who you feel would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it their way! Thank you!
Wishing you and all your relations wellbeing and good medicine!
With gratitude,
Taran
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