Rest and be thankful.
~~ William Wordsworth
Greetings to all my precious people!!
It is the middle of March, and there is a firestorm of activity occurring!! The first noticeable change was the historical and controversial “spring ahead” to welcome daylight saving time, switching our clocks ahead one hour, effective Sunday March 10. According to the Library of Congress, this measure was first introduced in the United States in 1918 under the Standard Time Act as a way to save on fuel costs during the First World War by adding an extra hour of sunlight to the day. Daylight saving time was enacted as a legal requirement by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Under this act, states could exempt themselves from daylight saving time, and Hawaii and Arizona opted out.
But why even start talking about “daylight saving time” as a topic in regards to health and well-being? Because maybe, if you are like me, your innate circadian rhythm has been disrupted, and you feel out of step with your natural cycles. It might take you a few days to recover from a seemingly simple change in routine, but your body is adaptable to change in the environment, and will find its own balance again. But is that adaptation dependent on the time measured on your watch, or the kitchen clock – or is there truly something else about TIME?
Time is a fundamental aspect of our lives and the universe, shaping the way we think and experience the world around us. Many scientists and philosophers argue that time is not a fixed and objective reality, but rather a subjective and human-made illusion. As Albert Einstein once famously said, “People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. Time, in other words, is an illusion.”
The concept of time has been used for thousands of years to measure and track the duration of events and the sequence in which they occur. It is a linear progression of moments that seem to move from the past, through the present, and into the future. However, the experience of time can vary greatly from person to person, and its perception can be influenced by a wide range of factors.
“A lot of us grow up being fed this idea of time as absolute,” says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a theoretical physicist at the University of New Hampshire. But Prescod-Weinstein says the time we’re experiencing is a social construct. Real time is actually something quite different. In some of the odder corners of the Universe, space and time can stretch and slow — and sometimes even break down completely. Imagine that! Even if we are not studying quantum physics, these little tidbits of information will serve as a gentle reminder: we don’t know everything about everything, and perhaps it is TIME to simply be present, be observant, and imagine how we are part of this matrix of infinite, interconnected systems.
The Aries Equinox takes place on March 20th when Spring will officially arrive, putting us precisely midway between mid-winter and mid-summer. Each year, two equinoxes occur, one in March and the other in September. But they’re not just calendar markers; they’re scientific points in the Earth’s orbit and have impacts down here on the ground. During the Spring equinox, the Sun crosses the celestial equator – an imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s equator – transitioning from the southern to the northern hemisphere. This event results in nearly equal daylight and nighttime hours in both hemispheres, hence the term ‘equinox,’ derived from Latin for ‘equal night.’
Where are signs of the March equinox in nature? Everywhere! Forget about the weather for a moment, and think only about daylight. In terms of daylight, the knowledge that spring is here – and summer is coming – permeates all of nature on the northern half of Earth’s globe. Notice the arc of the sun across the sky each day. You’ll find that it’s shifting toward the north. Responding to the change in daylight, birds and butterflies are migrating back northward, too, along with the path of the sun. The longer days do bring with them warmer weather. People are leaving their winter coats at home. Trees are budding, and plants are beginning a new cycle of growth. In many places, spring flowers are beginning to bloom. There is a rhythm, born of the intelligence of the planet, again occurring on a regular basis, but not dependent on the wall clock.
The Super New Moon in Pisces occurred on March 10th, creating multiple energy bridges, gateways and choice points for this current week and beyond. According to the astrologers, who follow the patterns and rhythms of the planets in the sky, we are to expect a powerful bioelectric/hormonal surge from the New Moon’s conjunction with Saturn and Neptune. And before you think, oh no – all that astrology stuff – remember that we don’t know everything about everything, and perhaps the stars and planets in the heavens can tell us a story – about patterns, about cycles – for surely the ancient mariners depended on the skies to navigate!!
Lorna Bevan, a British astrologer, says this time of eclipses and equinoxes are creating conditions that beg us to examine, assess, and rest before taking action. On March 17th, the Sun merges with far-seeing Neptune, while Jupiter aligns with the Great Attractor. Both these huge clusters of Black Holes are deep space conduits from the Noosphere, the self-reflective universe of creative evolution where a living library, a global brain and Akashic Records are stored in the cloud of unknowing. They act as energetic sorting filters and psychic transmitters. Watch for sudden sideways elevators tilting your daily reality so that you suddenly slip and slide into radically new physical, emotional and soulful territory.
Learn to respond to and not interpret your own and unique changes and shifts. Sense where your awareness has changed along with your passion, your focus. Time feels very fluid as your emotional attachment to the past dissolves. Paradoxically, this level of awakening requires so much sleep, essential to allow the rewriting of form to occur. Acclimate to your new energy flow by attuning to whatever your body needs – perhaps a few knock-out days followed by very physically active ones. Drink lots of water.
Ask: What’s the intelligent unfolding coming through me? Begin the inner review of options for your choice points:
- Launch practical, workable, achievable new visions, new models of business, new collaborations with like-minded people on your wavelength.
- Stabilize to become more resilient by recalibrating aspects of your life that are no longer fit for purpose. Close the door behind you on what is not working, has never worked or isn’t worth the struggle.
- Pay attention to those creaking floorboards, weak links and shifting tectonic plates wherever they are in your life – it’s time to let them fall apart, break and shatter.
- No cutting corners- anything fake, flaky or false will be obvious.
Time, Space and Earth. Part of the world we inhabit, part of the rhythm of our lives. How can we best take advantage of the mysteries? The best way is to be able to rest, to gather up your Qi, to nourish your body-mind-spirit with stillness and quiet. And many times that journey to knowing requires patience.
“Foighne,”(fii-nyeh) the Irish word for patience. It is the virtue that gently weaves through the fabric of compassion and gratitude. Foighne is the quiet strength that underpins our ability to face life’s challenges with grace, to extend understanding to others, and to wait with a heart full of hope. It’s about embracing the journey, trusting in the process, and finding beauty in the unfolding of each moment.
Patience, as signified by foighne, is a testament to our capacity for compassion. It involves giving others the time they need to grow, to heal, and to find their way, just as we occasionally need that time ourselves. It’s a practice of seeing beyond immediate frustrations, recognizing that everyone is on a unique path, and that true understanding requires time and space to flourish.
Foighne is also intrinsically linked to gratitude. In the practice of patience, we find countless opportunities to appreciate the present, to be thankful for the small progresses, and to cherish the lessons learned along the way. It teaches us to be grateful for the now, even as we look forward to the future, knowing that each step, no matter how slow, is a part of our journey towards growth and fulfillment.
As we contemplate the virtues of compassion and gratitude, let’s explore the role of foighne in our lives. How can practicing patience deepen our compassion for ourselves and others? In what ways can foighne help us cultivate a more profound sense of gratitude for the experiences that shape us? How can we support each other in embracing the slow, steady pace of meaningful change?
Consider giving yourself PERMISSION to rest. To reset. To recalibrate your energies in this time of transition. We are here to encourage your journey to healing and wholeness. Schedule a call to discover how Chinese medicine, acupuncture and the spirit of Anam Cara can support your health and wellness.
