The Month That Was

January, you were a doozie. I've learned a lot about myself in this first month of 2010; and it wasn't all good. The grey skies of winter, continued unemployment, and the 2300 miles that life has insisted on putting between my communities in Washington and Michigan made me feel like I was slogging through January.

But if I think about it again, January was a great month: Neil and I are quickly making a home in Bellingham - a beautiful one with people whose kindness, generosity, ingenuity and dedication to simplicity I really admire. And we had the chance to host our first yurt-warming with some dear friends from Seattle too. I've made cheese, baked bread, played piano, and knitted scarves. I've joined a running club, earned money doing yard work and put the wheels in motion toward substitute teaching. I saw Spring come to Bellingham 2 months early.

I'm always tempted to end each entry I write positively - and I usually do. It's not that I've necessarily come to any resolution by the end of three or four paragraphs, that I've worked out the kinks or sorted it out. But I do know that my highs and my lows (and oh January, you supplied me with plenty of both) are so much a matter of perspective. I recognize in my mind a tendency to cling to my ruts, to get stuck in them, and sometimes dig them deeper. With writing comes my release, a chance to choose a new perspective, a lighter outlook.

So fittingly, the Angel Card for February is Release. If that doesn't mean anything to you, it's not because it should. I was first introduced to Angel Cards, a set of cards each with its own personal quality or essence (e.g. Forgiveness, Play, Kindness, Clarity, Abundance) a couple of years ago. Created by people at Findhorn, an intentional community in Scotland, they can be used in any number of ways - but I like to choose a card, come up with a definition for myself, meditate on it and figure out ways that I can incorporate it into my life. We did this weekly as a group at Cloudview, and it made for great conversation and reflection on the past seven days.

Now I get a monthly e-mail from Findhorn that chooses a card and and sets an intention for the following month. This month:

Let go of all that keeps you in the past or takes you into the future. This may include control, expectations, inhibitions, worry or an outdated self-image.

We are all at a turning point, one that requires each of us to release readily what no longer serves and prioritize our energies, focus, and actions in the world. And, the invitation is ongoing to set aside our doubts, preconditions, and impatience and choose instead to feel connected to life, flow, and synchronicity.

We'll see what February holds ...

(ps Pictured above: Indian Plum blossom peeking out, 2 of the newest additions to the homestead: Butterfly and Miss Fatty [downing the carrot], and our yurt!)