Happy St. Patrick’s Day & First Day of Spring!!!
Greetings All You Wild Wonderful Souls! I hope that this email finds you well and beginning to feel the excitement of green and Spring! It seems that the wind on Monday blew the warmer weather in. I am so thrilled with the sunshine and the emergence of bud, blossom, and bee! I went for 3 walks yesterday to enliven my soul with birdsong, green shoots, frogs croaking and the magnificent light. What a gift it is to behold the return of life! I’m just so happy to be alive! I even had my bare feet on the earth for the first time in months.
We will meet for Wild Seeds of Light Church tomorrow to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a wee bit of Irish music and perhaps a dance or two. Rob is going to play a couple of songs on his guitar. The rest is still a mystery…working with the Spirit is so much fun! We will meet in the yoga studio even though it is tempting to be outside…I need to get prepared for the move outside and I am not ready. We will have an outside gathering at Dee Dee’s on March 31st, Easter Sunday morning, weather permitting. I will let you know the time and location closer to the day.
Now back to St. Paddy…he is one of the patron saints of Ireland. He died over 1,500 years ago on March 17th as the story is told. St. Patrick is associated with the growth of Celtic Christianity in Ireland. The interesting twist is that he first came to the country as an enslaved young man. He was born in Britannia, which is now Great Britain.
Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and forced to serve as a sheep herder. He managed to escape after 6 years and found his way home. Years later he returned as a bishop and a missionary.
St. Patrick was known for his love of the shamrock. He used the shamrock as a metaphor to explain the idea of the Trinity…the threeness and oneness of God…the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. St. Patrick told his followers that the shamrock has three leaves and yet one stem…one life. The three in one made simple for all to understand and the shamrock is vibrant green, which is the colour of growth and vitality. Creation is the perfect expression of the Divine! The shamrock is also a metaphor for faith, hope, and love…the threeness in oneness of the Creator. St. Patrick’s Day is a day to celebrate the gift of life and the Irish too.
This Tuesday, March 19th we welcome the astronomical Season of Spring with the Equinox. It is a time to grow and shine as new light and life comes to the Earth. May you find time to observe, marinate, and melt into the greenness of it all with delight!
Here is a wee Irish blessing to shine a light before you as you journey…
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
The YouTube share for today is a beautiful Irish piece called “Carrickfergus”. It is a ballad that tells the story of a drunken Irish wanderer pining for the northern coastal town of Carrickfergus and a former sweetheart. The song has unknown origins. It is filled with the melancholy that is so often associated with the Irish people, their landscape, music, and poetry. The words and melody pull your heartstrings…they speak to the very sadness that is born of grief. The singer is a young Irish man named Dermot Kennedy.
What’s Happening in the Neighbourhood
Wild Seeds of Light Gathering this Sunday, March 17th at 11 a.m. in the yoga studio at 8140 Cedarwood Road in Halfmoon Bay. Upcoming Gathering Dates: Sundays March 31 and April 14 & 28.
Wild Yarns… at Teresa’s house at 7838 Redrooffs Rd at 6:45 p.m. this Monday, March 18th.
Sacred Play every Tuesday morning from 10-noon. We will meet at the same yoga studio on Cedarwood Road.