Spring has sprung

Just over a week ago most of the people I know were doing online rituals to try to bring balance and peace back to the world, amid the chaos we are all currently facing. These are indeed hard and trying times, more so for some than others.

It seems that many creative types of people are finding their isolation times quite rewarding as they can spend time doing more of the things they love, without feeling guilty about not working or shopping, or just generally socialising.

Other people, who are not necessarily creative, but more social, are struggling with the newfound isolation and having to keep distant from loved ones and friends. For them it is harder as they struggle to come to terms with what is happening around them. Worry makes it harder to focus, and existing illnesses become much more frightening than they were before. We are all being bombarded by constant news of how many people are catching the Corona virus and how many are dying from it. Some members of society are still trying to ignore the seriousness of it, but as time passes and it slowly but surely spreads, even they will become more hesitant in their acts of rebellion and maybe accept that they need to help people more than they need to rebel.

Last week I took a walk around the grounds here thinking about the Spring Equinox and what it might mean for everyone this year. There are mixed blessings, but there are some. They are just harder to find than usual.

I had my own experience of things being harder to find, as I looked around me. Everything was still, more so than usual and there was an emptiness in the air that I had never felt before. It seemed as if even nature had stopped. There was no visible growth anywhere and nothing was moving. I felt my first wave of fear at that point, something I had not felt until then. Yes, I was aware of everything going on around me, but I was still living in the state of mind where I am taking one day at a time and living in the moment. As nothing I do or say can change what is happening in the world, only time will give us answers. But that fear gripped me in a strong hold. How is this all going to end?

I looked at my horses grazing in the field, even they seemed quieter than usual and my fears grew. What if something happened to me? What if something happened to everyone who has animals? How would they survive without humans helping them?
As I watched them, I started to think about the way animals react when they are ill or injured and possible death is close to them. They do not give up or stop living, they pay it no heed and carry on. They don’t spend endless hours worrying about if or when it will happen, they live and love and carry on, right until the second when they can’t. Only then do they stop and accept whatever fate has dealt them. Wouldn’t life be easier if we could all adopt the same state of mind. I have seen animals gather around one who is sick or injured as if lending their strength to the one in trouble. So, it is evident that they care, they will help if they can. If they realise, they cannot, then they are just present in silent support of the one who needs it.

Humans would be worrying and fearful about what might happen and how they will deal with it if it does, instead of waiting to see. I am just as guilty of this as the rest of us and my moments of fear in nature last week reminded me of that. One thing that really stood out for me though was how powerful fear is. If we look at the word fear, we can break down the meaning of the word as follows:

False Evidence Appearing Real.

Anyone who has ever suffered from anxiety or panic attacks can tell you how real it feels. But it is your own mind giving you scenarios that haven’t happened yet, and they may never happen. It’s so hard to break out of the cycle of that mindset, but you must rationalise it and break it, so that you can be stronger for others as well as yourself.
If we could adopt the lesson the animal world teaches us and only react when there is no other option left, how much easier would life be? How much more living would we do, instead of existing from one worried state to another?

On the 24th March when the new moon had risen in the sign of Aries, which is also interestingly enough the first sign in the Zodiac. I was once again stood watching the horses eating their evening feed and I looked closely at the tree I was stood next to. Just at the tip of the branch and about 2 inches up from the tip, there were tiny new buds just starting to appear. Like Aries, they are the start, the new life springing up finally. I also noticed the horses were in a much more playful mood and we ended up laughing at their antics. Life is still going on, I see sadness on the news, but then I see stories of new births in the farming communities and new families being created in the world, even in these frightening times. Life does go on and we go on with it.

Changes are happening all over the world right now, and for many of us, changes are hard, we need time to adjust. Aries being a fire sign and the first, is the forerunner of changes. Aries instigates new things, many of them are good at starting something, but not very good at continuing it once they have set things in motion. It is up to the rest of the signs to bring it to completion. So, I feel this new moon heralds a beginning for all of us. A start of a new way of living. We may be physically distant from each other but mentally we have never been closer. Think about that 😉