Mama Philosopher | making meaning and making home

Welcome 2013! I am so happy that you are here & I’m ready for something new.

I am not a big resolution person. In my experience, resolutions hold up for a while, ultimately fail, and leave me feeling worse than I started off (I feel the same way about diets by the way). For me, resolutions have always come from a place of not liking myself, specifically relating to weight and body image.

Instead of resolving to do or not do something, I prefer to choose a word to help guide me through the year. A word as an intention, a gentle reminder of something to open myself up to.

This year, my word is possibility. I woke up on January 1st with this strange breeze of lightness flowing through my soul. Ooooh! This feels good. What could it be?

The answer came, a whisper on this breeze: Possibility

Possibility. I like this! I want more of this feeling in my life.

Possibility is expansiveness. It is a child who wakes up in a joyous mood, singing to himself and lifting up the whole family as he dances around the house. It is the view of mountains in the distance, seen from the top of a ski lift right before the first run of the day. Possibility is the space that opens in your heart when you are laughing with a friend.

Possibility is:
I am not my job
I am not the place where I live
I am not how I look to others

I am love manifest
I am continually reborn
I am making my dreams come true

Have you chosen a guiding word for the year? If so, I would love to hear about it.

The whole guiding word thing is quite the rage right now, so here are a few other bloggers who have shared a word for 2013.

Pixie Campbell: Home

freeplaylife!: Self Expression (and here is a follow up)

Five Months Left: Create

And if you need a little more inspiration, here is one more for you:

The Organic Sister: 9 Steps to Break Free, Live Deeply, and Experience Life in 2013

Do you feel the magic of this season?

Today is the solstice, a reminder that even on this darkest day the light always returns, and so we are reborn. Today is a day to cast aside the pieces of ourselves that no longer serve us, and the forward to the next cycle with intention.

This season has been a bit rough for me. Holiday cards did not go out and much crafting did not get done, but joy is still ever present. I have had so many joyful moments with family, friends, in solitude and with nature.

Last week, as I was driving home from a late night at work, I came around a bend, at the top of a hill and saw a spectacular starscape. It felt as though I was driving right through the universe. And right in front of me, a shooting star swept across the sky and then another. At that moment, all the stresses of the day evaporated into the clear winter sky. I am so thankful to experience such joy in my life.

A few nights ago, we took part in a beautiful Garden of Light festival at our local Waldorf school. Each family took a turn, spiraling through the garden, lighting a candle on the center candle and spiraling out, placing the newly lit candle in the spiral. As the families walk the spiral, the room gets brighter with new light.

The festival celebrates this dark time of year, as we honor the past and look to the future when the light will return. It reminds us that there is an inner light that we carry within us, which we can share with the world. The spiral form is symbolic of the vast universe that we live in, full of beauty and mystery.

It was a quiet ceremony, with soft music played by some very talented musicians and talking in hushed tones. When each family had walked the spiral, we sang together:

Softly, softly through the darkness snow is falling.
Swiftly, swiftly all about the wind is blowing.
Open up the door I pray, ‘tis so dark and cold the way.
Clearly, clearly up above the bells are calling;
Brightly, brightly deep within a star is glowing.

Wishing you a blessed Solstice.