Thursday, June 25, 2020
. . art . .
Monday, June 22, 2020
Solstice thoughts
Saturday was the longest day of the year. I enjoyed checking in online with the small crowd at Stonehenge, and seeing the sun set there among revelers as it has been celebrated for perhaps 4500 years.
A slip of orange sky outlined the monolithic stones. It indeed was magical.
I also had a little ceremony with friends online, right at 3:43 PM, the time the earth's axis made us the closest to the sun we will be in 2020. We talked about the cycles of the seasons, the turning of the earth and the moon and the sun and the stars. We reminded ourselves that even as we celebrate these rhythms and repetitions, that all life is impermanent.
The poet Shelley talked about the insecurity of time in a poem about Ozymandias (which is the Greek name of Ramses II.) He found a stone fragment in the sand with these words:
"My name is Ozymandias
King of Kings
Look upon my works
Ye mighty, and despair."
but then, nothing but endless sand. . .
Ramses the II lived right about when Stonehenge was being built. One monument survived, others did not. Yet we still can think about both achievements, those that remain in physical form, those that are remembered in words.
Yes, we are part of the turning of the Universe, we will flow into this new season of summer, as the days shorten again, bringing us back to where we started, and into another cycle. We can connect with our own helping spirits to honor these changes in the season, and even in the seasons of our own lives.
These past months have been so chaotic, scary, shifting sands beneath our feet so we cannot really get a foot hold. The virus, and eruptions in political tensions, protests, change for the good in the long run.
For me, I need to remind myself to reflect on how perfect and beautiful our journey is, how difficult and marvelous, both.
Happy Solstice.
A slip of orange sky outlined the monolithic stones. It indeed was magical.
I also had a little ceremony with friends online, right at 3:43 PM, the time the earth's axis made us the closest to the sun we will be in 2020. We talked about the cycles of the seasons, the turning of the earth and the moon and the sun and the stars. We reminded ourselves that even as we celebrate these rhythms and repetitions, that all life is impermanent.
The poet Shelley talked about the insecurity of time in a poem about Ozymandias (which is the Greek name of Ramses II.) He found a stone fragment in the sand with these words:
"My name is Ozymandias
King of Kings
Look upon my works
Ye mighty, and despair."
but then, nothing but endless sand. . .
Ramses the II lived right about when Stonehenge was being built. One monument survived, others did not. Yet we still can think about both achievements, those that remain in physical form, those that are remembered in words.
Yes, we are part of the turning of the Universe, we will flow into this new season of summer, as the days shorten again, bringing us back to where we started, and into another cycle. We can connect with our own helping spirits to honor these changes in the season, and even in the seasons of our own lives.
These past months have been so chaotic, scary, shifting sands beneath our feet so we cannot really get a foot hold. The virus, and eruptions in political tensions, protests, change for the good in the long run.
For me, I need to remind myself to reflect on how perfect and beautiful our journey is, how difficult and marvelous, both.
Happy Solstice.
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