Month: April 2022

Unsettled – ND #120

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Photo: L. Weikel

Unsettled

I don’t know what’s been going on with me lately. I’m feeling profoundly unsettled, and I’m pondering what to do about it – if there’s even anything I can do.

By my reckoning, tonight’s post is my 1,231st. The initial 1111 were consecutive – not a day (or perhaps more accurately – not a 24 hour period) went by without me writing something to share with my readers. When I reached my professed goal, I indulged in a 12-day hiatus. And since then, I’ve written another 120 short posts, mostly observations of nature and contemplations on life, with a heavy emphasis on walking, puppies, clouds, and cats and a smattering of political and social observations.

Most of the time, even though I almost always think, “Ugh; I’ve nothing to write about tonight,” I’ll look at the photos I took with my iPhone and some small tale will ask to be told. Or a cloud formation will vie for my attention. Or some celestial event will either beg to be witnessed and reported on or its energetic influence on our lives offer to be contemplated.

Occasionally, tarot cards or a selection from an oracle deck might lend a perspective for us to reflect upon.

Dial Tone

Recently, however, I’ve been experiencing what I can best describe as a creative dial tone when I sit here with my fingertips poised above my keyboard.

Perhaps it’s knowing what’s going on in Ukraine that’s making me feel…mute. Or maybe it’s reading the headlines or hearing about the abhorrent attitudes and beliefs being spewed by so very many people who should know better. Or if they don’t know better, should not be in a position of leadership, power, or influence.

But I have to say, the images from Ukraine and the inner depths of darkness that must be within the soldiers who committed these acts seem to render me…bereft. The ability to perpetrate such acts upon another person has to stem from hopelessness.

What Has Happened?

It all seems to be related. And surely it must be – why else would we be seeing such harshness and cruelty toward ‘others’ all over the world? Is humanity bored? Has our species become so stagnant that, instead of joining together to care for the future of the Earth and the animals and our fellow humans, we’ve collectively just decided to say, “Screw it; let’s burn it all down?”

Again, it feels like hopelessness is the culprit. Which is interesting to me. Because I think so many of us think love is the answer. But love, while I do believe it is fundamentally the most powerful force in the Universe (all Universes), has – as a concept – become watered down and misunderstood.

No. I think hope is what we yearn for in our hearts right now.

The question is, where can we find it and how can each of us cultivate it in our lives?

Photo: L. Weikel

(T+120)

New Togs – ND #119

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
New Togs (to them, anyway) – Photo: L. Weikel

New Togs

Pacha and Brutus no longer fit in their old coats. As I wrote recently, the coats that used to hang over the ends of their behinds now creep up their backs and look more like short-waisted jackets. After Sheila and Spartacus grew out of things (or eventually passed away), I never threw out the clothes and harnesses that were still in ‘good’ shape. As a result, every once in a while I dig into our coat closet and pull out the gigantic Zip-loc bag in which I stored them. I find treasures that both remind me of Pacha and Brutus’s predecessors, and give the pups new togs to flash about town.

We have the cold snap of last week to thank for my resurrection of these older jackets. While I did retire their reversible plaid jumpers, I vowed not to replace them with the latest fashion until the fall. So when the temperatures plunged last week, I was relieved to find I’d saved a pretty decent selection.

The photo I’m leading with tonight actually has both Brutus and Pacha wearing Sheila’s old jackets. The purple parka Brutus is wearing almost certainly won’t fit him soon either, but it’s perfect for now. Spartacus had a golden yellow jacket just like the purple one of Sheila’s – but he wore it, and beat up on it, until it literally lay in tatters. (No, I didn’t try to salvage that one!)

So Pretty in Her Ladybug Fur – Photo: L. Weikel

Ladybug Fur

Pacha’s bright red ensemble, comprised of patches of faux red fur on a black thermal material, is what we call the Ladybug Fur. Sheila wore it proudly. She stepped out with an unmistakably jaunty air whenever she wore it – and so I was especially delighted to find it fits Pacha ‘to a T.’

Yes, yes, I could’ve put it on Brutus. But the truth is, our little girl is a woman now. So last week, when that became apparent, instead of putting a red drape over their crate*, I found the Ladybug Fur. (Let me assure you, she’s still provided with the requisite privacy and ‘alone time’ she needs when Brutus, especially, is a bit too interested in this latest development.)

Ah yes. Springtime.

How quickly our babies grow up.

*affiliate link

(T+119)

Fiddling – ND #118

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Tonight’s Sky – Photo: L. Weikel

Fiddling

I just watched Ali Velshi reporting from Lviv, Ukraine, as he stands in for Rachel Maddow on her eponymous show. I’m struggling to come up with something – anything – I can write that doesn’t make me feel like I’m fiddling while Rome burns. Ali was reporting on the utter carnage (war crimes) perpetrated by Russian soldiers in Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, and the reality is devastating.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that such atrocities are happening right now, as we live and breathe and move on with our lives. I’m conflicted, knowing that vast numbers of Russian soldiers didn’t even know they were spearheading a war; indeed, many thought they were either heading into a training mission or they would be greeted with flowers, as liberators, by the people of Ukraine. I’m conflicted because most of these conscripted youths probably cannot comprehend the reality they discovered, especially the ferocity of the Ukrainians.

So what level of insanity and barbarity had to overtake these soldiers to cause them to commit the atrocities that are being discovered?

No Silver Lining

When hearing that on the fences outside the homes where people were brutally raped and murdered signs were taped that simply said, “We are peaceful people,” one can only surmise that the soldiers were overcome with some sort of psychosis. Literally, they had to have devolved into insanity.

This is all the more apparent when one considers that there is no way to physically distinguish between a Ukrainian person and a Russian person. These soldiers, therefore, committed these heinous acts on people indistinguishable from their own friends and families.

I’m not in any way saying that it’s ok to butcher people who physically appear different from us. I just know that autocrats and dictators cultivate hatred of anyone who appears ‘other’ to us. Separation, blame, vilification of anyone different than us, they’re all tactics to separate us from each other, from our shared humanity.

This whole situation is forcing us to confront the grim reality that there truly are – and never will be – any winners in this situation. (If we were paying attention, we knew from the very beginning that all of this was unfolding as a result of one man’s egotistical attempt to impose his dream of a ‘reunited Russia’ on Ukraine.) How do we even begin to comprehend how completely different life was six weeks ago for so many or that any of this could happen in the 21st century.

No More?

There is nothing to celebrate (even if the ferocity of the Ukrainians’ hearts does bring a measure of pride and hope). There isn’t a single silver lining. I’d like to think the nauseating images we’re seeing would lead the world to unite and say, “NO MORE. We said ‘never again’ after WWII and we meant it!”

But alas, our hearts continue breaking every single moment this barbarity continues.

We must find a way to change our trajectory or no one will survive. (Our bodies may survive, but our hearts and souls will be crushed.) We must find a way. We must somehow create a silver lining – for our future generations, if nothing else. We must find a way to heal humanity.

Embedded Smile – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+118)

A Rough One – ND #117

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Is That a Bat Signal in the Sky? – Photo: L. Weikel

A Rough One

Last week seems to have been a rough one for a lot of people. I’m just tossing this observation out there in case anyone felt it or perhaps noticed it being endured by others. Perhaps it’s just a buildup of all the awfulness we’re witnessing all over the place, and especially in Ukraine. Or maybe it’s a result of the past two years of Covid and strife. Maybe – just maybe – it’s exhaustion.

I know many people who are doing their best to just hang on, hang in there, or otherwise maintain a façade of chill. And for whatever reason, maintaining that fragile balance is especially challenging at the moment.

Spring

It feels to me as if this new season of spring is speeding everything up. It’s as if our rollercoaster ride has, over the past couple of months, been tick-tick-ticking its way up that first really steep hill that’s usually at the very beginning of the ride. The one that, when you breach the top and gravity zooms you down and creates a momentum that takes your breath away over the next several zigs, zags, and centrifugal-force loops, you sometimes find yourself asking yourself why in the world you paid good money to experience this.

If any of us are feeling that subtle sense that things are really going to start heating up via unexpected revelations and other exposures of truth and intentions, it’s possible we’re also just a teensy bit on edge over what the reaction to those revelations will be. Yes, many crave accountability. But there’s also the faction that may or may not accept that reckoning peaceably.

From Micro to Macro

What I find fascinating is how we are seeing the very same themes playing out in our own neighborhoods and school districts, in the way our states treat their citizens, to the entertainment industry, and all the way up and out to how entire countries are behaving around the world. Abuses of power. Over-reactions. Blatant lies and gaslighting. People beseeching authorities for accountability or, at the very least, an acknowledgment and attempt to address and rectify the abuses – and terror at what those who may be held to account for their behavior may do to the rest of us. We are in fear of their spoiled tendencies to lash out when they are caught hurting the rest of us (or the world at large).

It just seems like we’re getting tired of allowing the bullies and tyrants to get their way. What kind of a life is it to look the other way when abuses are taking place all around us? What kind of a life is it to keep pretending everything is normal, when right before our eyes it appears as though the ones that break the rules rule the day?

I’m not sure why I’m writing this except to say we need to stick together. Last week was a rough one. This week may be worse. No matter what, though, we need to stand up for what we fundamentally believe is right and true. And we need to be especially kind to ourselves and one another in the days to come.

Because from the smallest encounters to the greatest, it will be the kindness we display that will be the ‘bat signal,’ if you will, that we’re both sending to and answering for each other.

A Break in the Gloom on the Horizon – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+117)

Enjoy – ND #116

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The Colors – Sunset Photo #4 – Photo: L. Weikel

Here are four photos I simply want you to enjoy.

How it began:

Sunset #1 – Photo: L. Weikel

 

Where it went from there:

Sunset Photo #2 – Photo: L. Weikel

 

The sun wasn’t finished with us yet:

Sunset Photo #3 – Photo: L. Weikel

 

And of course, the final photo is the one I led with. The colors of the photograph fill me with awe.

Have a spectacular Sunday.

(T+116)

Tornado Warning – ND #115

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Ominous Arrival – ND #115

Tornado Warning

Happy very blustery first day of April. The post I started writing last night began with how we were under a tornado warning. Literally, here in eastern Pennsylvania, my cell phone began blaring a very abrasive sound and the words that popped onto the screen warned that I should immediately retreat to a cellar or basemen, or short of that, take shelter in a place devoid of windows or in the center of the house.

Karl was asleep on the couch, although the noxious noise did rouse him a little (although not enough to get up). The wind was wild and there was a lot of lightning, which felt ominous. (I can’t explain it, but it didn’t feel like a normal thunderstorm.) I was vigilant – monitoring the way the air felt and the way the wind sounded – and had already rehearsed in my head the tenor of voice I’d use to get Karl on his feet in a split second and how we would each scoop up an animal or two to get them into the cellar with us.

For about ten minutes, I kept saying out loud, “That doesn’t sound right.” I’d mute the tv so I could track the storm even better. And yet through it all, I kept hearing my own train of thought telling me there was no way we’d be hit by a tornado.

Guess I was wrong. (This was only a couple miles from our house.) Or maybe my intuition was right to make a plan in my head as to the quickest way to bolt into the cellar – in spite of my skepticism!

A Bouquet of Crocuses from the Spirits of the Land – Photo: L. Weikel

Had a Conversation

I had a little chat with the Spirits of my land today while I performed my EoP Biodiversity Process. It always warms my heart to have a heartfelt conversation with the Spirits of our land. I think it’s because I sense that it still surprises them to actually have a human paying attention to them and speaking to them with specificity, intention, and gratitude.

I’d hoped to have a new moon fire today, but it was far too windy. Maybe tomorrow. Just in case you haven’t yet given yourself permission to sit quietly and contemplate the opportunities you’d like to pursue (or perhaps even more powerfully, the feelings you’d like to bring into your life) over the next month and two plus years, you still have time. Everything doesn’t have to be set in stone by the moment the sun and moon conjunct each other. No, the energies of a new moon begin shortly before the astronomical occurrence and last for a few days afterward.

So I encourage you: get real with yourself. Have a think this weekend. How do you want to feel at the end of this month? What would you love to manifest in your life by June of 2024?

(T+115)

New Moon in Aries – ND #114

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 5 Comments
Graceful and Glorious Landing – Photo: L. Weikel

New Moon in Aries

In only a couple hours, we will experience a New Moon in Aries. As we know, a moon is considered new when it is conjunct, or exactly lined up with, the sun. And the sun just entered Aries last weekend.

A new moon in Aries is considered especially auspicious and powerful as far as initiating new endeavors and becoming aware of (and seizing) new opportunities. Beyond noticing what short term goals we might want to set and implement, this particular new moon, being in the initiating sign of Aries, may be especially powerful in marking the beginning of a new two and a half year project.

It’s intriguing to ponder what seeds we might plant today (Friday, April 1, 2022) that may either run their course or only come into their fullest expression by June 2024. It just feels like there’s so much volatility and potential for change all around us.

Will we manifest the change so many of us yearn for deep in our hearts?

Blue Heron & Goose – Photo: L. Weikel

Creek Visit

All of which reminds me that I only managed a ‘drive-by’ of the Tohickon today, which is where I go when contemplating time – past, present, and future. When I turned onto the road that passes within feet of the creek I immediately noticed two Great Blue Herons having a chat on a boulder amidst the flowing waters. Of course, as soon as I pulled up to the side of the road (albeit as slowly and unobtrusively as I could – in a car), they took their leave. One seemed less irritated with me, though, and seemingly teased me by only moving a dozen or so yards upstream.

It hung out with a couple Canada Geese and I wondered if it was going to try spearfishing one of those ginormous carp that – surprisingly – were still hanging out in that same spot I saw them last week. (I saw much less evidence of the snakes, though. Or maybe I didn’t linger there long enough for them to surface.)

Yes, we had a chat – Photo: L. Weikel

 

Instead of pondering my intentions for this new moon, I had a silent chat with this Great Blue Heron. It was obviously aware of me as I playfully stalked it with my iPhone. I love the shot I got of it landing on a rock a bit downstream, its wings outstretched and magnificent.

I’m thinking the message of this new moon may be honoring the need for self-reflection, which is the key concept attributed to the Blue Heron in the Medicine Cards. There are so many ways we can honor Blue Heron’s nudge to engage in this activity. I think it may be time for me to cultivate and offer new opportunities to myself and others who may want to join me to do just that over the next couple of years.

Set those intentions! And maybe even, perhaps, join me in embracing Blue Heron’s urge to know ourselves even better?

Great Blue Heron taking flight – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+114)