…This season, for me, is always a time to think about change and transformation, about all the ways in which we might allow the long, cold dark to strip us down to the bones of who we are. Every year, letting winter strip us bare; letting the final leaves that we’re clinging onto fall. Letting it all fall, and seeing what still holds us upright. And from that point of strength, choosing the ways in which we might bend. I take inspiration there from the row of ancient alders that stand firm along my riverbank – strong roots reaching down through the stones into the dark earth; long, fragile branches bending down to the water as if they’re wanting to borrow some of the river’s lightness of being. A tree knows how to balance it all. A tree – if we are paying attention to her lessons – will remind us that we need those roots that reach down into the nourishing dark, as well as the branches that reach out for the nourishing light. Either one of them alone just doesn’t work at all…

Sharon Blackie

Right now I’m feeling stripped down to my bones. Noticing what I’m clinging to. When I am ready I will explore what holds me upright. Ponder my strength and how I might bend, and consider how I might aid the bending of our culture towards life.

Blessings to you all.