Embracing the Equinox ...

Spring and all its flowers

now joyously break their vow of silence.

Hafiz

 

Hi Everyone!

Today, the Equinox, (a twice yearly time of equal day and night), has arrived, heralding the onset of Spring. And Spring, the beginning of earth's creative cycle, invites us to open to the subtle awakening of the earth and to move with it into our own full blossoming. Spring is a time of renewal and of welcoming new life, a time of beginning again.

Here in Vancouver, we've had a beautiful Spring weekend with trees exploding into bloom, daffodils dancing in the wind and sunlight bouncing from the lakes and ocean. For many, it's been a time of joy and spontaneous activity. For others, these new beginnings have caused a fresh round of melancholy and yearning as the new has, inevitably, triggered echoes of the old.

The Equinox is a time of balance. We have the opportunity to notice and listen deeply to both sides of Spring, the ending and the beginning, to make space to say goodbye to the old and to open our eyes and hearts to whatever is emerging anew. It is also a time to just "be" with the dynamic energy of veriditas, "the greening of Spring", so we can discover our deepest longings, recognize unnoticed gifts and consider the next steps in our journeys of life.

It takes some conscious intention to participate fully in the possibilities of Spring. Poet, Lynn Unger, points out in her wonderful poem, Camas Lilies, that if we are not careful, our busyness can cause us to miss out on precious opportunities for new life:

And you -- what of your rushed and

useful life? Imagine setting it all down --

papers, plans, appointments, everything,

leaving only a note: "Gone to the fields

to be lovely. Be back when I'm through

with blooming."

Our world is full of abundance and creative spark. It is always possible for the old, dry and seemingly deadened within us to spring into life. Why not take a few moments today to notice what is awakening this Spring? What are you seeing around you? What is happening within?


If you would like help to make space for your process of awakening and growing, you are welcome to join us for the Spring 2016 Caring On Empty Workshop for Helping Professionals on May 6th at the Granville Island Hotel in Vancouver. Just email me at caregiverwellness@shaw.ca for a brochure. The registration deadline is extended to April 22nd.

Veriditas II ...

A person who toils more than her body can bear

is rendered useless in her spirit

by ill-judged roil and abstinence.

Living hopelessly and joylessly, that person's sense often fails.

Hildegarde of Bingen

Hi everyone...  Last spring, I wrote a blog post on self-care called, Veriditas. At the time, I understood veriditas to mean the greening force of spring but I was far from comprehending the depth and power of the concept.

This year, after almost twelve months of reading about Hildegarde of Bingen (an amazing German abbess who, at a time in the 1100's when few women could read, was an early feminist, ecologist, herbal healer, poet, playwright, mystic, and composer) and after a month-long mandala retreat based on her writings, I have a much deeper understanding of both the woman and her veriditas. And I think she has much to say to those of us who have become desiccated and arid (ariditas) through caring for others while not caring so well for ourselves.

The verse above, taken from one of Hildegarde's letters, is a perfect description of my own state in the last weeks of my husband's life. I was physically exhausted, my spirit was dry through roiling turbulence and abstinence from the things that might have kept me moist, juicy and verdant. I felt little hope or joy, and as many will tell you, my sense - common or otherwise - was definitely failing.

Hildegarde saw veriditas as that life force which unifies all of life. She was most interested in the sense of life, radiance, vitality and aliveness in all creatures. She saw veriditas as the green sap that makes life possible. As author, Christine Painter, writes:

This green fluid, that is the source of life, is hidden below the earth, in the the roots of things waiting to burst forth in springtime with newness. Rain elicits this response. Hildegarde believed that humans draw forth this same green sap into our beings through the breath and the soul. The breath is the animating force, drawing in moisture and life.

Though Hildegarde was, of course, bound by the "science" and theology of her times, there is still great wisdom in many of her ideas. Let's try to apply some of them to our own lives:

Imagine where in your life you experience the dryness of ariditas. Where do you encounter complete lack of nourishment or anything to sustain you? Does any part of you resonate with this notion of barrenness and desiccation? Where have you become depleted in yourself and in your service to others? (Be sure to hold these dry and arid places with the utmost gentleness and compassion. This is not a time for judgement or self-criticism.)

Then, breathe the moist and verdant energy of veriditas into your body, your mind, your emotions and your spirit. Allow it to fill your being with life-giving greening power. Then exhale, letting go of all the dryness and releasing its hold on you. Do this for several minutes.

Now, allow yourself to consider these three questions for reflection adapted from Christine Painter:

1.  Where in your life do you experience the greatest dryness or ariditas?

2.  Where is the greening of life most abundant for you? What are the things which bring you most alive and in connection with the greening life force at work in the world?

3.  Could you make some time to immerse yourself in one of these activities, or some small aspect of it, this week?

As you can see, veriditas isn't just a reflection of the greenness of nature, it is reflective of the very state of our true, authentic selves. We each have the capacity to bring forth new life just as the earth brings forth greenness. Becoming more aware of the quality of greenness of the earth helps us to see where in our aridity we need new growth.

Veriditas - The Greening of Spring ...

Hi everyone! It's finally Spring - the time of greening.

11th century German Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, one of the most respected ecologists of her time, called the greening of spring, veriditas, (or, viriditas), which translates from the original Latin as a partnering of green and truth.


Other writers have defined veriditas as spiritual and physical health, freshness, vitality, fertility, fecundity, fruitfulness, growth, and the healing greening power of Nature or God. Science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson, uses the term to mean "the green force of life, expanding into the Universe".  And yet another definition is, "the divine freshness that makes human creativity and fruitfulness possible".

Regardless the later definitions or descriptions, Hildegard of Bingen felt that we humans are each fertile "earth" with our own "moistness, verdancy and germination power". She believed that we are all co-creators, containing the juice of creation within our souls. Her primary message to us all was to stay juicy, wet, green and moist so we can blossom and flourish, fight injustice, heal the earth, help others, and save the cosmos.

So, what can Hildegard's wise words say to us today? And how can we apply them to our own lives this Spring? After a long, cold, hibernation-brown period of winter, (or a time of unbalanced living or a period of compassion fatigue, itself), we all need some of the veriditas of Spring. We need to be brought back to life, to make ourselves "juicy, wet, green and moist" again so our work and our lives can blossom.

The first step toward reclaiming our aliveness is to make an assessment of the parts of our lives that are tired, brown and dessicated. Where do you need a little greening - in your physical life, your emotional life, your spiritual life, your relational life, your financial life, your work life, your creative life, your artistic life, your social life, your parenting life, your recreational life, your life in your home? Once we have determined where the dry places are, there are millions of individual options for encouraging our sap to rise. Here are a few greening possibilities that others have shared - if you have some more, please add your own.

1.  Go outside in the newly longer days. Do whatever you can out of doors. Soak in the longer hours of light. Move your exercise outside again. Feel the March winds on your face. Walk in the grass with your bare feet.

2.  B-r-e-a-t-h-e deeply of the spring air, noticing the scents of daffodils, cherry blossoms, rain, freshly mown grass and laundry airing on the line.

3.  Open your windows and listen to the birdsong - a sign of new life!

4.  Revamp your diet to include more locally-grown fresh fruit and vegetables. Try a green smoothie to boost your energy and stabilize your blood sugar.

5.  Spring clean - yourself and your environment. Out with the old and in with the new. Get a pedicure or a massage. Try a new haircut or make-up. Cull your wardrobe. Buy a new T-shirt. Wash the windows. Sew some fresh and simple cushion covers. De-clutter the shed or garage.

6.  Plant a garden that will feed your soul but not overwhelm you with weeds and work.

7.  Get up with the sun and spend your first half hour in quiet stillness - meditate, pray, be.

8.   Sit outside with a cup of tea and your journal. Write about your needs, your feelings, your dreams, self care, self intimacy, self nourishment. Create a gratitude or memory journal.

9.  Think of the things that make you happy and practice taking in the good several times a day.

10.  Do something creative every day. Write. Paint. Do woodwork. Quilt. Sing. Play an instrument. Dance. Film a video. Make pickles or bread. Arrange flowers.

11. Read something inspirational every morning and every night.

12. Laugh out loud - a big, belly-shaking, tear-stirring kind of laugh - at least once a day.

13. Spend time with people you love and tell them you love them.

14. Learn to live within your means and see a financial consultant to plan for your financial security.

15. Get sufficient sleep at night. 

16. Have regular, deep, thoughtful, transparent conversations about the things that matter.

17. Move your body whenever you can. Don't just sit - get up and move around. Stand up to do activities you might normally do sitting down. Exercise during TV commercials. Turn off the TV and go for a walk.

18. Make appointments for your medical and dental checkups and for a mental health tune up. 

19. Take a parenting class even if you've been a parent for a long time. There's so much great new information to learn.

20. Take a spring vacation with your partner to rejuvenate your relationship.