The sun slips lower with each passing cycle and we will soon have the longest night upon us — here, in Minneapolis we will see more than fifteen hours of darkness overnight at solstice, while places like Fairbanks, AK will see closer to eighteen hours of night.
I’ve decided this year to honor this cycle of nature and reduce my online presence over the days leading up to Winter Solstice, which takes place on December 21 — in accordance with the daylight hours and as my professional career allows (I still need to make money to pay bills, after all).
I’m doing some spiritual alchemy this morning. You know, calcination, dissolution, separation… yada yada yada. Fancy words for a messy process.
As most of you know, I don’t have much patience with fancy language to describe simple things. I also don’t have much patience with elaborate processes when the processes themselves should be (and tend to be) simple.
Stepping back…
I was thinking again, about this process of rewilding my spirit, getting back to the beginning. Part of that involves taking what you perceive yourself to be and going all Zen by seeking out the face you wore before you were born. Or, as the kōanwould have it, before your parents were born.
[A kōan, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a Zen “public case” meant to help one realize satori, otherwise known as enlightenment.]
What better place to set as a destination for rewilding your spirit? Your original face, before even your parents were born!
Before nurture came around… Before your nature evolved…
What face did you wear?
And can you find it again?
Note: For the curious, my philosophy is largely Taoist informed by Zen, my spiritual practice is largely animist, influenced by panpolytheistic understandings (with many of those trappings removed). Confused? Now you know why I think these kinds of thoughts.
