In My Village

In my village, from this Land of Enchantment, the day after Thanksgiving, I feel a sense of prevailing wholeness and peace, amidst a sense of fear and shameful pride. Who are we? Why are we here? Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving? Has it become another water-downed holiday of giving Thanks, of having Gratitude for this and that.

Don’t get me wrong. Gratitude goes a long way. And I’m not here to espouse what’s right or wrong with holidays. I’m in no way an authority on that.

I can only speak of my very own direct experience of what I feel in the moment of each day. In truth, I don’t live in the moment much. Admittedly, I’m often thinking about the past or future – missing loved ones who are no longer near and wanting new loved ones to recreate the spot, of what once was.

Once a Scorpio, always a Scorpio. That’s me. Born the Day of the Dead no less. I live to shine the light on imbalance, unspoken words and deeds, and the corrupt. Can’t seem to get away from it. Probably why I love the fire signs, who dance on the earth with a bit more lightness in their step and optimisim in their hearts. Us water signs, my-oh-my, we feel deeply, we live deeply, we share and care deeply, but we often get stuck in the murky, transformative waters below. There’s much work to be done there, and on some days, us water signs feel the job belongs soley to us.

Again, tuning into my village in this Land of Enchantment, I am so grateful for the peace – no drones, no bombs, no one to run me out of my house. Just peace, warmth and comfort. How lucky I am; even if this is just some sort of temporary bliss. Then there’s the village across the ocean – where I can feel how the village folk are in a state of unrest and distrust; not knowing where their next meal is coming from, not knowing if their homes will be safe that night for their families – young and old. I’m aware of the difference. It makes me unsettled, so I send them peace from my village to theirs. Does it help? I hope so.

I personally don’t think there’s much to be proud of in being able to live alone, but there is something to be said for stillness and prayer done in Solitude. It’s a thing, I’ve noticed, how many live alone in our village of Santa Fe, myself included. Maybe there’s a need for us to be in stillness and solitude right now. Maybe the world’s villages need a lot of our prayers right now. I think so.

Funny, me and my treasured can of baked beans, a warm fire and a glistening black cat which has befriended me, I’m sure for warmth and food’s sake; all combined with a snowstorm grounded me at home alone on Thanksgiving. However, it all brought me such gleeful delight; Stillness, Solitude, Prayers and all. The bonus was catching a long glimse of Arlo Guthrie’s, Alice’s Restaurant on the radio, after my wintery walk in my village across white, snowy peaceful lands, listening to Kalyani on my old but trusty Mp3 player. That was cool to hear Arlo’s ballad from long, long ago.

Remember, you too can prayerfully share the delight of the peaceful world you currently live in, with kindred folk in your village as well as those in another village across the ocean. Inclusiveness heals. Belonging heals. Caring for others, including the plant and animal kingdoms, heal. Being in Love and sharing Love heals.

In stillness, tune into the Love of Your Heart. In this silence, share your Heart’s Love with the Hearts of everyone near and far.

Surrender your ego, but please don’t give up now. Anchor your Love in this village and the next, and the next; for your Love is very much needed.