Winter Solstice - The Birth of a New Year

We look with uncertainty beyond the old choices for clear-cut answers to a softer, more permeable aliveness which is every moment at the brink of death; for something new is being born in us if we but let it. We stand at a new doorway, awaiting that which comes...daring to be human creatures, vulnerable to the beauty of existence. Learning to LOVE. - Ann Hillman

Birth is rarely a pain free process. Creation nothing short of transformative. It tests my tolerance and trust more fiercely than any other experience. Nearly ((every single)) time I find myself on such an edge, I waver. Pause. Sometimes, even, try to turn back. And yet, every time I stay with the ache in my heart, every time I willingly enter, knowing the experience at hand is

the very thing I need to experience in order to move forward, I am guided home. 
 
This journey into the depths toward Solstice has challenged me deeply, revealing layer upon layer of grief - some my own, some belonging to others, some rippling out from world events. It has taken my heart through a landscape of loss...of place, of peace, of wellbeing, of self or who I believed myself to be. Clear answers, once readily available, as well as practices that once served as my foundation, for one reason or another, have felt out of reach.

We look with uncertainty beyond the old choices for clear-cut answers to a softer, more permeable aliveness which is every moment at the brink of death.

When there is more happening in our lives than we believe our hearts can take, when the ripples of the earth's heartache reach the shores of our own bodies, there is potential of losing our ground, being tipped over edge beyond our range of tolerance into overwhelm. More than ever, we need our practice(s) to buoy our tender hearts so we may stay present and receptive to both the suffering AND joy of the human condition - so we may stay open to seeing and uplifting the beauty and goodness of the world - so we may expand our hearts in order to be intimate with all of life, with all of the places that beseech our love. This is where growth and healing take place. Where we remember our wholeness. Within the fire(s) of life. Learning all we can learn about LOVE.

We stand at a new doorway, awaiting that which comes...daring to be human creatures, vulnerable to the beauty of existence. Learning to LOVE.

I may always be perplexed by the imperfection of the human condition. I may always walk a brilliantly beautiful, yet messy path. But if I can call on my practice to keep my heart open, if WE can remind our selves and others of how lovely and whole and complete we already are, I believe we can shine a light so bright we guide the heart of humanity home. Join me in this dance!

Love, Teresa