Rumi is known to have said,
“There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground. There are a thousand ways to go home again.”
There are a thousand things to be grateful for and a thousand ways to celebrate living- to welcome in the abundance of the harvest season. Bringing in ritual and adding sacredness to the mundane are ways for me to stay grounded, which is the most lovely version kissing of kissing of the ground.
Ritual in my mind is the ‘bowing to the 5 sacred points”, where upon a yearly pilgrimage to a sacred retreat center in the hills, I enter a beautiful labyrinth, journey slowly to the center in contemplation, only to end up in the middle where there are 5 different lookout points to observe. Bowing my head humbly, I begin honoring the different directions and perspectives that each boast an entirely different feel from the one it neighbors.
This ritual is among the most profound touches on my soul.
It is a way to honor all seasons-both in life and in the thinning and expanding of daylight, a conscious acceptance of leaning into the assurance of the presence of God over any plans that I may have laid ahead for myself of my future, the way I believe things should go.
Surrender.
The power of an unhurried moment, the power of the present,where the world stops turning, that magical space between moments.
This stone circle on the ground pays tribute to the birth-deqth-rebirth cycle, walking into the circle for death and then exiting back again, changed on a cellular level it feels, infusing insight, peace and epiphany into my soul, a balm for my spirit.
Even though I lack a physical stone pilgrimage ceremony this 38th birthday of mine, the energy of this place resides in my soul, reminding me upon this day of the magic that is the process of putting one foot in front of the other, showing up, falling in love with another completed rotation around the sun, stepping into the continuous great unknown.
This profound thought hit me today while walking the dogs in the early morning- the idea that births are happening every day in our lives in a myriad of ways, not just that one chance and blessed day that happened in the past when our mothers ushered us earthside.
Once the actual original ‘birth’ has come into fruition, then the journey of the birth-death-rebirth cycle takes over so the process can march forward. I am determined to remember that this circle continues throughout the entire span of my life, so I am free to take a wild breath of air and slow down my pace, breathing in fullness and appreciation.
HAPPY REbirthday my soul.
Thanks for letting me kiss the ground another year…
…all is well…