Wisdom of Giving
Last weekend I had the opportunity to be with women in the woods as we marked the Earth’s transition into winter and our own turning inwards during the dark season of the year. We spoke of how we respond to the shorter days, the cold, the chaos and joy of holidays; we listened to one another and to the sounds of the crisp cool day around us; we soaked in sunshine and felt warmed from the inside by moving our bodies, by sharing a meal, and by holding space and time to hear ourselves,
At times it seems our culture has created the expectation that everyday be the same; that we have the same quality and quantity of energy to give no matter the season of the year or the season of our lives; that we be an eternal Spring. More and more I have found value in bringing curiosity and attention to the transitions in my life, the times between static states…. and I see this mirrored in the transitions of the Earth, of all other living things. The flower blooms for but a moment in the plant’s life; equally as important is the falling and decay of dead leaves to bring nutrients to the roots of the plant.
In Autumn the leaves fall and remind us of death, of returning to dust, of the ending… and we wait. But in our waiting we know... we trust that the light will return. In December the night will reach it’s longest point, but that rather than continue to darken, the Earth will begin again it’s journey around the sun, and the cycle will repeat. Everything proves this to us, and if a year seems too long of a period to hold in one’s mind as evidence of the cycle, all one has to do is turn to the moon, or as a woman, to listen to one’s own body. Each month there is a reminder of death and life.
Participants soaking in the light on the Finding Presence in Winter retreat, November 2015
Various traditions have different, although overlapping, associations with winter. Whether it is in four-directional wisdom, the cultural practices of nature-based peoples, or in religious or other spiritual faiths, winter is a time of age and knowledge. The following is a sampling of other words describing the internal state of the season:
wisdom, elder, sage, inner love, reflection, will, manifestation, responsibility, turning inward, nurturing, the North, death giving way to life, darkness awaiting the return of the light, (and this one I especially love) wisdom of giving
So what of this “wisdom of giving”? The idea that here at the transition between the death of one year and the birth of the next, that we have within us the wisdom of our past year’s growth…
and that if we use the time of waiting to listen to ourselves,
to reflect and turn inward,
that we will discover that the world needs our wisdom, our unique gift.
My hope is that in this Thanksgiving and holiday season, we will slow down enough to learn from our year, and to hear our wise self speak.
The year is dying, but the light will return.
And so here in the darkness, can we access our wisdom, and offer it as a gift to others?
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” –Howard Thurman