This year, the Equinox has come earlier than it has in memory. It’s as if Mother Earth is doing all she can to remind us to take heart and remember that new beginnings are as natural as the tilting of the earth.
That’s wonderful, but it’s hard to really appreciate it when the whole world seems to be turned upside down.
Yesterday, I said a prayer for spring renewal as I wiped down an egg carton with diluted Mr. Clean. I found myself simultaneously wondering if I was insane to take such precautions and if a wet rag could possibly be enough to protect my family.
(What I’ve learned: you can get used to almost everything. That’s terrifying, in a way, but it’s also a source of comfort. As hellacious as it was to consider whether my kids could get sick from touching a cereal box, it won’t be nearly as strange or traumatic to do a prophylactic cleanse on the next round of groceries.)
It seems like a far, far cry from the first Spring Equinox ritual I remember… Exactly 20 years ago I huddled in the dark by the River Corrib with a handful of American sisters. We sang and chanted together, setting intentions and asking for blessings from whatever Celtic goddesses blessed that that fast-flowing Irish river.
Yesterday, I marked the arrival of spring by supervising my daughters’ cookie decorating project. I made soup. I dusted obscure parts of my house. I worked on a beloved client’s book.
And when I couldn’t keep up the smiling and the productivity, I went down to the basement treadmill to re-watch the first episode of Outlander. I marveled at how that cluttered storage space could all look so normal and the show could be so comfortingly familiar when everything above ground was so bizarre.
This was the first day I gave myself permission not to keep up appearances online. It was the first day I didn’t try to be insightful and inspirational to anyone except the people who depend on me directly.
If there’s anything I have learned in the week or so since this whole Covid-19 phenomenon became real here in upstate New York (besides how to efficiently disinfect bunches of bananas), it’s that we need to show up and we need to drop out from time to time.
Time is slipping faster than the waters in that distant river in its constant flow through Galway Bay and onto the Atlantic Ocean. As much as I’m an ocean girl with saltwater in my veins, we human souls are made of more than the element of water. We are more than a collection of slippery molecules with little to say about our speed or direction.
Instead, we need to be like the countless swans that live on the Corrib.
Yes, they move with the water, letting themselves get carried by the relentless current. But they also have the power to return to their nests to rest. And, of course, they never forget they can fly.
Those of us experiencing the extreme and beautiful luxury that allows us to write and read blog posts during a time of global catastrophe, those of us who have houses with hidden corners in need of cleaning, we are blessed to use home as place of rest and refuge.
We can use this security (and even this boredom and worry) and translate it into the strength and clarity we need to lead on the other side of all this social distancing.
And that ability to fly, that ability to use imagination, vision, and a faith in something greater than this present day calamity… it’s available to all of us if we can tune into our personal, creative, and spiritual Sovereignty.
This week’s Sovereign Standard puts an emphasis on just a few of the countless free and low-fee online events on offer right now…
Sovereignty Knot Online Book Events
My first big book event was supposed to happen at my favorite yoga studio in New Paltz on Saturday, March 28. There are four huge cartons of books in my front hallway, still sealed up and waiting to make their way to the hands of readers.
Clearly, it’s time to stop mourning these live events, put a little energy into imagining life on the other side of social distancing, and put even more energy into how to make these events happen in the virtual world.
On Thursday, March 26 at NOON ET I’ll be going live on Facebook to read a little from the book, talk about why Sovereignty is so important right now, and to give away a couple copies of the book.
And then, on Saturday, March 28 at 7 PM ET I’ll be offering a modified-for-the-times version of The Sovereignty Knot Performance and Celebration on Zoom.
Colleagues’ Online Events
So many of my remarkable colleagues are offering free online writing sessions and presentations for creatives and entrepreneurs trying to navigate this strange and difficult period.
Saundra Goldman is hosting a writing practice session on Sunday, 3/22. Find details at Write the Wise Way Home.
Jeffrey Davis is welcoming entrepreneurs and creatives to gather for How to Keep Creative Momentum in Times of Crisis: A Tracking Wonder Webinar on Monday, 3/23 at 3 PM ET.
Suzi Banks Baum will offer one of her Power Keg Sessions at 11 AM EST on Wednesday, 3/25.
Sara Eisenberg is holding space for Come As You Are: Take Refuge in Good Company at noon EST on Wednesday, 3/25.
Good Listens
The audiobook version of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine has been a wonderful alternative to listening to press conferences this week. I am deeply grateful to Diane Heart, my favorite Cape Cod potter, for recommending it.
And, I need to express my thanks to our public library system for keeping the entire family going with their digital offerings. Have your kids spent time with Neil Patrick Harris and his Magic Misfits book series? We’re listening to one and reading another aloud right now…
