Friends,
As I think about our transition from winter to spring today and tomorrow, I realize that it’s just as important to say goodbye to a season as it is to say hello to the next one.
Springtime is sacred for us Anishinnabe folks, it’s our new year, the time when everything shows up, life springing forth from their resting places.
But it’s important to examine what we leave behind with winter, what we learned, what gifts we received there.
So, I’d like to share a ritual with you to help us find our way in this transition, and I’d love to know how you showed up in this space and what it helped you process about this moment.
If you can take 10-30 minutes, whatever time you have, I think it’s important to honor this space. If you can show up with a big meal and intentionally eat and celebrate on your own or with community or family, please do that too, asking together what it means to move into this season of becoming and showing up.
Letting Go & Welcoming In Ritual (Audio is included if you’d like to be led through the ritual instead of reading the transcript):
Find a comfortable spot in your home or outside. If possible, bring two candles with you, a journal or paper and something to write with.
Take four deep breaths, imagining you’re welcoming the four seasons and the four directions.
Light the first candle
Turn your attention to Winter, thinking over the last few months, from December until March, and what you’ve learned or practiced.
Ask:
what has winter taught me?
what gifts of winter am I taking with me?
Say goodbye to winter. If you have a journal, write a letter to winter saying goodbye until next year.
Take four deep breaths again.
Light the next candle.
Turn your attention to Spring, looking ahead to the next few months, from March to June. Think of the warming months, Mother Earth, and the work of blooming and becoming.
Ask:
what visions and expectations do I hold for the spring season?
how can I hold space for myself in the coming months to honor my journey?
Say hello to spring. Write in your journal, draw a picture, or simply sit with your eyes closed and envision spring as it arrives.
Take two deep breaths.
Blow out the first candle.
Take two more deep breaths.
Blow out the second candle.
Pause a moment to honor the letting go and welcoming in.
Go with that intention.
I’ll be traveling on the first day of spring this week, speaking at Boston College for my first in-person event of 2024.
I’ve got some lovely events lined up for this year, but I also have space for a few more, so if you’re looking for something along the lines of these themes, let’s chat:
spirituality & identity
inter-faith relationships & storytelling
healing & ongoing colonization in America
workshops on care in difficult times
workshops on our connections to ourselves, one another, and Mother Earth
retreats on any of the above themes
Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring