A few days ago I posted this on FB: "Great Spirit, please support me in these last days of school. Please help me to not only get through them, but ENJOY them as these moments in my children's lives are fleeting. We are joyful and sad and grateful all at once. Please give them the support they need as they journey into the next stages of their lives. With thanks, Amen and Aho." Here I sit. 4 days later. On Monday, Thursday seemed so far away. I have spent the week laughing and crying and talking to my fellow parents. That is, when I am not cooking, cleaning, running errands for the kids. supporting the Moon's field day, taking her for an end of the year lunch with friends and oh - not to mention - trying to run a business and prepare for a house full of people for graduation. Did I mention that The Sun, my oldest, is graduating from 8th grade tonight? I know. 8th grade. Big deal. It is a big deal. It signifies his move to high school. His moving away from us and becoming more independent. And, it means he is leaving the next of the small Waldorf school where he has mostly been since his days in the sweet Parent-Child circle with me beginning at the tender age of three. It is bittersweet this day. I know tonight will be hard. For me, for him (he is so excited and so sad all at the same time). Last night I had a nightmare that seemed to go on forever. I rarely remember my dreams these days but when I do I know to pay attention as it is important. Noah and many children were locked in a school. It was a big public school. Not his school. The "authorities" came and locked them in...then they locked us in. Most of the dream was spent attempting to escape. I'll be thinking about this throughout the day. The meaning. The take-away. If you are a dream interpreter, let me know as I have a glimmer of the meaning but can always use some help. I'll leave you with an image of Noah on stilts at the annual Elves' Faire, a Waldorf tradition (by many names). Today, I will tell him that his time at his school is not truly over, his relationships not coming to an end as long as he tends the flame and keeps it alive. Hmmmm...what flames should I tend today? I am posting via my phone in my backyard so please overlook any errors. After three solid weeks of running at a planned but breakneck speed, I can go out into the Southern Spring sun and do something that we do best and plant my garden.
Three weeks ago I planted 8 tomato, 12 sweet potato, 2 pepper, 3 basil and 3 cilantro plants, Then I walked away. I have longingly stood in the kitchen as I prepped meals, signed school papers and planned our schedules and as I headed out the door and watched my garden grow. Finally, a gap in the schedule as the school year winds down! I have worked two hours solid and have sat down in the grass before round two. With each turn of the hoe and with each armful of straw and each sneeze from tbe grass and trees, I have given thanks for this day and the Earth which nourishes us. Now comes the sunflowers and okra and squash and more! Give thanks. Be glad. Walk in the sun! There are days when my calendar is full and I am pulled in a hundred directions and many people/things need my time and attention. I have lived in the space where I was focused and used an altar each day to keep me on my path and have lived with no altar, no intention, no consciousness around manifestation. Which one do you think gave me more peace and success? The first altar I ever had in my home was under a bay window in our living room. It was enormous! I used a yard sale coffee table and my table contained crystals and candles, incense and statues, my journal, nature items and anything else I felt moved to add. For several years I prayed, meditated and focused while at the altar. I did ceremonial work and even brought Nathan into a couple of my ceremonies there. That altar served as a visual, grounded representation of my spiritual path. In 2001, we moved from our apartment into our home in Murfreesboro and I packed that altar away with the intent of finding the perfect home for it on our new space. That. Never. Happened. Thanks to a challenging pregnancy and becoming immeresed in Motherhood, I never unpacked that box. And, my spiritual path went from a bright burn to a hidden pilot light. And, I went from being a very focused person into someone who wandered through life. Did the lack of an altar impact my spiritual path? That's sort of like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg. I don't know for sure. But, I would say YES. That lack of a visual reminder hindered my continuation of my spiritual path. Did I abandon my path completely or my personal faith? No. But, it definitely went from being at the forefront of my life to being like an old favorite pair of jeans that I put aside into they fit me once again. My heart has been pulling me to once again do altar work. It was not until recently when I began walking the path toward Elemental Space Clearing Certification with Denise Linn that I focused on this once again. As I moved into this space, I began once again lighting candles as a way to focus and then recently I added a small altar space to anchor this energy in again. That altar is featured in this post. This week I'll be adding more images and thoughts around this profound work. |
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Meet DanaI’m Dana Croy and I am a modern day mama. Balancing family and work is not always easy (not to mention a little self-care). Though being Mama to two fantastic kiddos is a huge part of my life, that was not always the case. I wear many other hats and invite to sit down and find harmony with me. Archives
August 2021
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