May I cherish my body, my dreams and intuitions.
Guide me from fear to courage.
Teach me to see deep into the mirror of my soul.
-Winter Mudra by Karen Hering
The words above go along with a series of motions—thus it is a mudra—and you can find a video of Karen Hering leading and explaining the mudra here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQoj5HwUhU
This speaks to me today, as winter seems to have settled in with cold and snow and wind over the last few days. I opened the window blinds yesterday to see flurries of puffy snowflakes.
The post-holiday time reminds me every year that Christmas and Yule mark the beginning of winter. The long cold of January and February are before us. This week the stillness and isolation of winter are increased dramatically: because of the COVID omicron surge, I am taking all of my meetings online and moved my base of operations from the Fellowship building to my home office. I have voluntarily decreased the bubble of my physical interactions.
The gift of winter and of darkness is the stillness. The quiet. The sacred beauty of falling snow that insists you slow down and listen to it. As I write this, I’m in a darkened room in my home; it’s after dinner and very dark outside. In the summer this hour would be full daylight.
What does the stillness of winter teach you? What are your dreams and intuitions? We are all forced to retreat into quiet and darkness by the COVID outbreak and by the cold weather. I believe the winter has gifts for us if we open ourselves to them.
PRAYER:
Gentle Goddess, bringer of snow, thank you. I accept the winter time as a reminder to slow down.
May we all reflect on what is most important. May we seek and find wisdom within ourselves in this cold season.
Blessed be.
Rev. Andrew Frantz
January 6, 2022