Today, I began the day with dance. The sun was bright outside and the energy in the room felt like spring to me. The set moved me to open up and reach upward, toward the sun, toward the cloudless sky, toward the emergence of spring. Though there are 8 foot piles of snow all around my house right now and the air was so cold this afternoon that my cheeks and thighs felt frozen when I came in from a walk, the light was so strong; it was a stark contrast to the position of the sun in the sky only a month or two ago. It’s always amazing to be able to feel the earth waking up just a bit at this time of year.
I grew up near Punxatawney, Pennsylvania, home of the groundhog who tells us that there will be six more weeks of winter, and so marking this time of year feels natural to me. We are half way between winter solstice and spring equinox. The sap in the trees is beginning to stir. The energy of plants is waking up and starting to begin its ascent from the roots to the limbs.
We, too, are waking up. Soon, we’ll be celebrating the holiday centered around love and sexuality. We’ll be celebrating the fertile desires that lift our bodies out of sleep. We’re beginning to dream of starting seeds, feeling the promise of the earth’s fertility in our hearts and spirits. It’s a beautiful time–hope in the midst of these still-dark months–that reminds us how the warm rays of sun feel on our skin.
Here in Maine, we’ve still got a long way to go before spring, but I can feel my body stretching toward the light. I can feel the birds’ energy changing. Even as we ready ourselves for yet another foot of snow tomorrow, I can feel my spirit beginning to unfurl after shedding some of the things that no longer serve me. I am beginning to vision the year to come in all its magical fertility, and it is so very good to be alive.
Sanctuary Healing Gardens 