5th Day of Christmas

This is the fifth day of the twelve-day festal tide - a sacred, festive season. I have a day to myself, but lots of activity on my schedule, so I plan to be present in the moment and take it one thing at a time.

Agenda today:

1. Christmas retreat

2. Kwanzaa principles

3. Sanctuary Reading

4. Sanctuary goals for 2023

5. Prayer candle ceremony

6. Turn my compost

1. Christmas retreat:

I am again celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas with a mini-retreat for myself, and using the Soyal Way of Being as a guide for my days; that is, I'm keeping Mother Earth in my thoughts as I move quietly and respectfully about my days, in order to establish the right mood for the coming year, and reach a unity of everything in the universe. 

I'm also doing some reading and writing every day, focusing on my priorities and what I'm called to do (or not do) next in my life. My plan is to contemplate, honor, and practice a different one of my life priorities on each of the 12 days, and set some goals and resolutions for 2023, based on guidance from God.

Today I am contemplating the sanctuary of my home, and balance at the center. My home (in a perfect world) is the calm center of the storm. Our home is cozy and fairly clean and tidy, but it has room for improvement: Our peace is upset by cluttered storage spaces and a few too many sharp words. I want to consider how to improve both my home space and my mental state.

What rooms and outdoor spaces in our home and garden need the most work to become a true sanctuary? How can I put my creativity into form to serve my sanctuary? How can I  better welcome the natural world to enter my sanctuary?

 

What physical clutter am I more than ready to let go of? What clutter am I clinging to? How do I balance simplicity and order in my home with abundance and creativity?

 

How grounded do I feel? Am I able to set aside obsessions and fears, and return to equanimity?

Am I balanced in the gestalt? Consider all the aspects of my life, all at once... Take a deep breath and listen deeply: What could I do next year to bring my life into greater balance?

2. Kwanzaa principles:

The fourth day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to the principle of ujamaa (oo-JAH-maah), cooperative economics - the idea that when we work together, we all profit. Cooperative economics encourages us to meet our common needs by chipping in together. Imagine a world where everyone shares their wealth (even our government) and uses our economic strengths to make the world a better place!

3. Sanctuary reading:

Today I'm reading again from "Root and Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self," by Becca Piastrelli (2021). Today I'm reading from Chapter 3  - Making a Sacred Home.

Becca says, "No matter where you live, your home sits upon land, upon earth.  ... It can be a challenge to remember the earth element within our homes. We forget that we can bring it into our spaces, that we can tend to it around our homes, and that we can honor it always."

She goes on to describe how to think of your home and land as kin, as a place with a soul of its own, and to "clean it with joy and infuse it with intention"; how to sit with the soul of your home and listen to what it wants.

4. Sanctuary goals for 2023:

This week I'm setting goals and resolutions for the New Year. My theme for today is Sanctuary and Balance; the "earthen courtyard" where chi is always available, where energy is replenished and then moves on. 

A sanctuary is a sanctum, a sacred and protected place of beauty, grace and refuge; it embraces us and brings us back to center. When we take sanctuary, even for brief moments, we are re-created, recharged, healed, soothed, comforted and at peace.

My home and land is a sanctuary for my body and my soul. My life flows around this solid base. Sanctuary goals might have to do with physically making my home a safe and comfortable space, making changes in my behaviors to create a greater feeling of safety for others, and also things like grounded-ness, and finding clarity in chaos.

My ideas so far for sanctuary goals next year:

• Continue to recycle possessions I no longer need, especially art supplies; plan some art projects to use my fabric stockpile, and papers. Find the balance of simplicity and abundance that I want.
• Renew my connection to my home by tending to it with intention and care.
• Continue the work of creating a sanctuary in our yard, for playing with grandchildren, gathering with family, socializing with friends, and for our domestic animals and wild nature; create an abundant veggie garden and and an inviting butterfly garden.
• Work on the skills of patience, equanimity, and loving kindness.
• Fill our home and yard with Medicine Art, to connect us to nature and to heal us.

5. Prayer Candle ceremony:

I'm enjoying a daily prayer candle ceremony throughout my extended Christmas retreat, using small candles and candle ends, and will choose a new candle to add each day.

Today I light a gold candle for sanctuary, and ask the Spirits to bring the rain of loving care down upon the whole world.

6. Turn my compost:

As a ceremonial way to honor sanctuary today, I plan to transfer the half-done compost in my large spinning composter into our smaller Darth Vader composter, where it will sit for the rest of winter. (I do this whenever the larger bin gets too full for me to spin.)

Composting - growing better soil - is one way we heal the earth. And it can also be a meditation: As I shovel out the half-finished compost, I add my thoughts to the mix - love, patience, peace - all the beneficial nutrients. I add in my thoughts of anger or remorse as well, and ask the earth to recycle them into something useful.