Throwing our weight behind the light
Yesterday, (February 1), was Imbolc (pronounced Im-olc), the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.
It’s a traditional Gaelic festival, and thought to have pre-Christian origins.
It’s that time of year when we hear the occasional did you see how late the sun stayed up yesterday? It’s the twinkling realization that oh, yes, the days are growing longer. The deepest hold of winter is ever so quietly loosening its grip.
Too many of us humans, myself included, have forgotten to flow with the rhythm of our home (planet). Our calendar feels like truth, rather than letting our observations and felt experience of our surroundings guide the way.
Even at a gathering last night, I overheard a friend exclaim “Phew, we made finally made it to February!” What is it about our rushing through time? We long for a certain day, time, or phase of life to come, and once it arrives, we’re ready for the next thing. Perhaps that’s our finicky nature.
I popped open my copy of “Rituals of Celebration: Honoring the Seasons of Life through the Wheel of the Year”, written by Jane Meredith. It’s a book that guides us through each of these phases in the year. It’s filled with ritual, contemplations, and her own reminiscing of passing through time.
In talking about Imbolc, Meredith says:
To celebrate Imbolc is to engage in trust…to trust what happens next will be good.
It made me ponder, what does it look like to engage in trust? To not only engage with it, but to even open up to the teeny tiny possibility that what happens next will be good? How can I make trust central in how I operate day to day?
These questions feel particularly weighty in our current moment in the United States. For Progressives, we once again find ourselves living under a leader who traffics in constant lies, bad faith, and delights in targeting some of the most vulnerable in our society. An Administration driven by the darkest corners of the human psyche.
How could I possibly have any trust that there will be good in the days to come? Many of us remember the last time around, and the chaos that came with it. Many of us also forget the powerful movements that grew from it, and the connections that were built.
There were enormous losses, yes. And there were some mighty wins. The thing about rights is that they seemingly are never permanent (even though they should be). The reality is we must show up for each other.
I believe deep down that the human spirit is bent toward good. That most of us seek connection over separation; relating over alienation.
It won’t seem that way if you’re glued to the news, but look closer. Literally, who lives next door to you? Who in your community shares your passions or interests? Who is doing good in your neighborhood or city? Put trust in yourself, but also remember those relationships and friendships that make up your daily life. Those matter more now than ever.
I’ve shifted my focus away from daily news, and toward the people in my life. Being there for my friends through their challenges. Being present in my communities to contribute where I can, however imperfectly and sporadically at times. Laughing more. Embracing and being present in the romantic connections that are so close to my heart. Taking care of my self, and my beloved cat.
Meredith continues:
“Imbolc asks us to throw our weight behind this increasing light…Perhaps this is the most important learning: after darkness comes light, inevitably, unstoppably, and even ruthlessly. It’s the insistence that we continue, even unknowing of the future.”
This is my guiding principle over the next four years (and maybe my lifetime): Throw my weight behind this increasing light. Not simply in time, as we move from Imbolc to the Spring Equinox, but in how I show up in the world. Put my efforts behind the light that I find in the people, relationships, friendships, and natural beauty that’s around me. Put my dollars behind companies, institutions, and organizations that seek to do better for the world.
Darkness has hovered over the planet in many forms, for wide spans, in many places throughout history. At the same time, light has moved as quickly, if not faster, to mend the destruction. Never perfectly, wholly, or permanently, but the light has an unrelenting ferocity.
As we show up as light in the world, we send forth a kind of power that is life-giving and generative. This is how I plan to show up in the months and years to come. I hope you will too. May it be so.