screech owl

Farewell to 2022

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 6 Comments
Rosemary Sprigs – Photo: L. Weikel

Farewell to 2022

My intention as I write this post is that it will be read, or at least received, in the early morning hours of December 31, 2022. I’ve been thinking a lot about this blog lately and, more specifically, the relationship I feel with you, my (very cherished) readers. Some of you I know personally, but most I may never meet – face-to-face, at least. Yet in spite of that fact, I do in fact feel a bond with you. I miss the connection we cultivated over the years of writing (and you reading) my 1111 Devotion. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming urge to reach out and bid farewell to 2022 – and share it with you.

I was walking in the golden slant of late afternoon sunshine, drinking in the balmy temperatures, weirdly unsettling after last week’s hellacious deep-freeze, when a fox raced across a field right in front of me. A Great Horned Owl hooted twice in the forest to my right, just as the sun dipped below the horizon. A lone Screech Owl whimpered its forlorn call from its perch close to the cliffs, long after the light of dusk had darkened to midnight blue.

Each of these encounters felt intimate and sacred. I know, on the mundane level, that these creatures could not care less about me. Indeed, if they were even aware of me, they undoubtedly wanted to escape my gaze as quickly as possible. (At the very least, I know the Fox started hauling ass across that field as soon as it made eye contact with me – an electric moment that I must admit was palpable.) But living in the mundane world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Beyond the Mundane

And I guess that’s what made me think about this blog in that moment. In each of those moments of connection with the wild, to be honest. Sure, there’s the mundane way of approaching our lives. It’s rote and mechanistic and borders on tragic. When I contemplate how most people live lives utterly devoid of magic (and often deliberately so), I want to cry.

If you’ve read my posts for any length of time, you know I’m not referring to the hocus-pocus brand of magic, although there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, in my opinion. Rather, I’m referring to the ‘magic’ of imagining a deeper relationship with the Beings with whom we share this planet. Yes, I feel creatures might show up in my world to urge me to pay attention to something in my life. And yes, I like to think there are invisible threads of connection between all of us – and we all ‘show up’ for each other, one way or another, when we need each other the most.

Time to Show Up

So I decided it was time for me to show up in your in-box (or Facebook feed or whatever) again. It’s time for us all to prepare for another set of seasons, another round of planting intentions, nurturing them as they take root, cultivating their growth, and watching them flourish.

But before we can expect those intentions to thrive, we need to clear away the hucha (heavy, unrefined energy) we accumulated from last year. Even if we had a banner year of mostly wonderful experiences, there’s no escaping the energetic dross that’s circulating in our collective environment. From images (and personal experiences) of war and the atrocities being perpetrated in the Ukraine and elsewhere, to the everyday revulsion our souls feel when realizing how much hate, fear, misogyny, racism, and just plain awfulness is in plain view, right before our eyes, being inflicted on each other, every day. Sometimes it’s almost too much to bear.

A Sweet Ritual to Let Go

Here is something I’ve done with family and friends, and which I feel honored to share with you. If you’re so inclined, pick up some fresh rosemary at the grocery store today. A sprig for each person in your household is perfect. Tie a ribbon or piece of colorful yarn around each one if you seek a festive look.

Pair up (but you can always do this to yourself if you’re welcoming the new year in in solitude) and take turns gently caressing the rosemary from the top of your partner’s head to the tips of their toes. Your intention, which you set at the beginning of this exercise, is to ‘sweep’ all the hucha from their energetic field surrounding their body.

Once you’ve done this for each other, if you have the ability to do so, burn the rosemary and watch your hucha go up in smoke. You are now cleansed of the energetic detritus of the past year, ready to embrace 2023 clean, fresh, and eager for new beginnings.

If you can’t safely burn your rosemary, I suggest either burying it or, as a last resort, simply throwing it away or composting it.

What’s most important is your intention to lovingly sweep clean your partner – and equally important – for you to willingly release your hucha.

I bid you a fond farewell to 2022.

Sunset 30 Dec 2022 – Photo: L. Weikel

Summer Loves – Day 660

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Cloud Blanket – Photo: L. Weikel

Summer Loves

I love when it gets cool enough at night for us to put the whole house fan on instead of the air conditioner. The past few nights have allowed for that, and my sleep has been deep. This evening we don’t have any electrical cooling device running, and I’m sitting here in our living room with the front door open thoroughly enjoying my summer loves, the crickets and katydids.

And as if right on cue, yes, Screech Owl, I hear you. Yes, you too are my love – but my appreciation for you is capable of being expressed year-round. Crickets are more three-season roommates (sometimes literally) and katydids really truly only seem to span mid to late-summer through early fall.

I don’t think I will ever tire of immersing myself in countryside night sounds.

A Lucky Step

The other night, Karl and I were walking home in the dark. The sky was particularly opaque from a blanket of clouds that almost looked like a billowy down comforter. Even though the sun had set, we usually would have been able to see in the residual light. Not that night, though.

As we were walking down the final hill toward our home, I was striding down the hill and felt a rather large ‘thing’ bump into my foot. I suspected it was a frog or a toad from the feel of its skin against mine, even though the encounter was brief.

I yelped involuntarily, of course; glad I hadn’t landed squarely on it. I squinted and tried to will my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

I saw a dark blob on the road and knew it could be either what I was seeking or a bunch of leaves. Using my flash to see where it was and identify it, this lovely specimen forgave me for scaring it and getting in its way as it made its way across the road.

And then it actually sat still enough for me to take its photo. It blended in remarkably well with the leaves at the side of the road. A beautiful creature. A lucky step – for both of us.

Toad Crossing the Road – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-451)

Earth Day Wish – Day 162

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“Hootie” – Photo: L.Weikel

Earth Day Wish       

I had a long day today.

When I walked in the door this evening close to 8:30 p.m., Karl already had the pups dressed for success, their harnesses clicked on and leashes attached.

I love walking at night, especially on evenings when the sky is clear and the constellations pop out against an indigo backdrop. And I have to admit, as I’ve admitted before, I simply love, love, love my iPhone’s Sky Guide app.  Honestly, I cannot recommend this app more enthusiastically.

It’s probably weird that I’m writing about an app that identifies the abundance of celestial (and other) bodies existing ‘above’ us (although in truth, they exist beyond our planet in all directions, not just the ‘above’ defined by our limited perspective) on ‘Earth Day.’

But haven’t you noticed? Sometimes we need to ‘look elsewhere’ to fully, deeply, and lovingly recommit to appreciating what we already have right here at home.

Our home.

We Share Her With So Many

As Karl and I walked our usual route, a screech owl trilled its forlorn song. We saw herds of deer in a number of fields (and heard the occasional stomp of a hoof on the ground, in an effort to ward us away). Karl saw two turkeys crossing the road, and vultures were settling on branches conveniently near the carcass of a deer that had unsuccessfully attempted to cross the road earlier in the day.

I described to Karl the amazing escort I’d had as I traveled (very slowly) along a stretch of road in New Jersey early this morning. An osprey with prey hanging from its mouth seemed to be tracking along right beside me. I slowed down long enough to try snapping a photo, since no vehicles were anywhere to be seen in either direction. I wish I could figure out how to edit my photos so I could post a closeup.

Osprey with Prey – Photo: L.Weikel

A Bold Long Arc of Gold

But the best part of this evening was a special gift to us from the cosmos: a bold and brilliant shooting star that fell straight down in front of us, framed by the shadows of the ‘tree tunnel’ we walk through toward the end of our walk. The meteorite tonight, falling precisely as I was describing the astonishing number of license plates I’d seen earlier bearing Karl’s initials, was not one of those quick slips of faint light flitting across the sky. No, it was a bold long arc of gold taking its time as it fell before us, as if some huge giant was writing something in the sky and this was the downward stroke of a capital letter.

We were filled with delight and stopped in our tracks, looked in awe into each other’s eyes, and held each other in a long embrace, celebrating the magic all around us.

I don’t need to tell any of you how precious it is to experience life here on Mother Earth. I just wish we could care for her more generously while we’re still here to enjoy her.

(T-949)