It’s been a somewhat challenging start to the year. Lots of sickness has been going around and we as a group of seven at GWI have not been immune to that. Last week a colleague said February is the new January, implying the need to begin again.
These collective moments of struggle seem to indicate something, but it can be hard to decipher what. Do we see it as a need to slow down and pause? Have we been pushing when we should be hibernating? Or, do we push through, finding the strength that comes with adversity? Does it even matter which path we choose?
What stands out to me is, how do we support each other in these times of adversity, both big and small, personal and global? There is a Buddhist saying “Winter never fails to turn to Spring.” The winter will indeed turn to spring whether we have rested enough or not. We will emerge with new opportunities before us. In this period of difficulty and sickness and challenges, we reach out to each other, we extend grace, we pickup other’s burdens when we ourselves are able, we sit bedside and hold a hand because we care. These acts connect us and confirm the power of the collective when situations can have us feeling isolated.
In spite of the trials, in spite of the anxiety of unseasonal warm weather (followed by snow storms), the sun is taking on that spring feel, birds are getting vocal, and I can sense the blossoming that is soon to come. I don’t know if we collectively rested enough, but I am still excited by the coming energy and what we can grow – the new ideas, the ideas that have been percolating, the chance to engage with each other. Liberation is a collective endeavor rooted in love.
