We are not living in unprecedented times, as many keep claiming - just different and immensely challenging times! Even the briefest of reviews of history reveal that humanity has lived through countless terrible times before, when all hope seemed lost, and yet the human race has survived, adapted and evolved.
Something remarkable is happening at the close of this year of the pandemic my astrology friends tell me. Not only was there a total solar eclipse on 14 December, but also on the Solstice - 21 December - the planets Saturn and Jupiter will be so closely aligned they will look like a double planet to form what is known as a Great Conjunction. Such Great Conjunctions are extremely rare. The last time the phenomenon was visible was in the Middle Ages, prior to the Renaissance, although a similar alignment occurred in 1623, but was too close to the sun to be seen.
An uplifting 5-minute meditation on Van Gogh's beautiful painting of a nature scene in the south of France. Really worth stopping whatever you're doing and experiencing - it will make a difference to how you feel! Brilliant idea from the National Gallery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eT-Qi7j45c&ab_channel=TheNationalGallery
As the autumn sunlight lit up the trees outside my window, my heart just soared and I rushed out to wander in the garden and marvel at the sheer beauty of it. After days of dismal fog, it was magical to see so many shades of copper, auburn and gold sparkling against the bluest of skies. I was filled with a sense of awe and gratitude!
I just have to share this beautiful animation and poem from filmmaker Andrea Dorfman and poet Tanya Davis. 'Lean into loneliness' in these Covid times - we are all connected. Thank you for this wonderfully inspiring short video - here's the link -
'I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in darkness,
The Astonishing Light
Of your own Being.’ Hafiz
‘God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us - in the dreariest and most dreaded moments - can see a possibility of hope.’ Maya Angelou
Sometimes hope eludes us and it’s hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel - we feel overwhelmed and the future stretches bleakly before us. We find ourselves questioning the whole basis of our lives and whether there is any meaning or purpose in them.
‘The thought manifests as the word
The word manifests as the deed
The deed develops into a habit
And the habit hardens into character.’ The Buddha
Everything in our universe vibrates, including us, and our emotions are also vibrations. When we choose to hope rather than despair, we automatically tune in to a higher vibrational level, freeing ourselves from the negative impact of the slower vibrations like fear, anxiety, and doubt.
We have no guarantee about the future, but we exist in the hope of something better.’ The Dalai Lama
Hope is both a choice and an action. If we give way to despair about the chaos of our world or our own personal circumstances, we are unable to do anything to change the situation. And although human history is a catalog of woes, it’s worth remembering that it is also rich with magnanimous acts of courage, sacrifice, and compassion.