May 1, 2025 (Beltane)

Our Ancestors celebrated May Day, the first day of May, because it was welcomed as the beginning of summer.  It is celebrated with flowers and ribbons and dancing.  The day was popular festival to signal that fields had been ploughed and the seeding was complete.

The celebration was to bring forth the Gods/Goddesses to bless the seeding and thereby ensure a great harvest.  For some Ancestors, May 1 was a celebration of fertility, and this was a popular day to court and confirm your love to the man or the woman who held your heart.

In today's world,  May Day is just another day.  You can make it special by going out into Nature to find places to be at peace with yourself.

More posts about May 1.

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/05/may-1-beltane.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2024/05/celebrating-may-1-may-day.html

Blessings,

Judy

Happy Thanksgiving Canada - October 14 2024

 

Here is a lovely prayer to use for Thanksgiving if you are looking for something new to share with family or friends.

The Canticle of the Creatures

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun, who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.
We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.
We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,
for love of You bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You Most High, they will be crowned.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.
We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,
and serve You in all humility.

Written by St. Francis of Assisi

Blessings,

Judy

Celebrating May 1 - May Day

Picture of May Pole Dancing from www.Classicalvalues.com  

 

Our Ancestors believed in the power of ritual and celebration.  The month of May is named for the Greek Goddess, Maia, seventh daughter of Atlas. In Europe, May Day is regarded as a way of celebrating the feminine, the Goddesses of Fertility, to ensure that the planting and harvesting will be successful.  The Maypole represents the male, and the ribbons represent the female. The Maypole becomes an artistic rendering of the act of copulation.  

In some countries, the people that have enough to eat and wear often leave presents tied to the trees to honour the Goddesses, and to allow the Goddesses to “see” how generous they were, thus ensuring the “reward” of a bountiful harvest.  The Goddess would then “direct” sending of the gifts to those that needed them.  

Sacred trees which are used in this honouring festival include willow, rowan (mountain ash), apple, fig, pine, and oak trees.  As the trees received gifts, the people believed the fruit of the tree multiplied so that both humans and animals would receive much harvest in the fall.

Some thoughts on May:

• the full moon is called “The Frog Moon”
• colours are hazel and pink
• flowers are lily and trefoil
• May’s creatures are magpies and doves

Enjoy May as a time of renewal!

Many blessings,

Judy

Feel the Silence

God is the friend of silence. See how nature... trees, flowers, grass... grows in silence. See the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.

Mother Teresa  

There seems to be an extreme push from the heavens, for all of us to be in silence.  Creator seems to be looking to have us experience Oneness.  Whether we do this through silent observation, prayer, or meditation, the result will be an expansion of consciousness or awareness, of all that is around us.

Try it!

Blessings,

Judy

If You Love a Flower

             Flowers in the wild in Elbow Falls Recreation Area 

"If you love a flower, don’t pick it up. Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love. So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation." – Osho

Wild flowers have a magic all of their own.  It is like finding a treasure!  It shows that that part of the world is in balance.  The wild things are to be celebrated and protected, and not destroyed.

Many blessings,

Judy

 

On Being Happy

A picture of infinite possibilities taken from pull out on Highwood Trail

For the last several weeks, the quote below, on happiness, keeps popping up either in my email or on sites that I look at.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. - the Dalai Lama 

I decided that I really needed to look at my happiness and look at whether I was truly happy.  We know that happiness comes from inside you and not from external sources.  And yet, as I examined my life and my home and yard and all our friends and neighbours, I concluded that I am happy.  I love my life!  I love that we have beautiful flowers and a bountiful garden and herb garden. I love that we can sit and have coffee on the deck in the morning.  I love that I have time to meditate and to walk in Nature, and to sit on the Earth and feel the life that flows from it.

I then looked at my compassion.  The meaning of compassion as defined by the University of Berkeley in California is:

Compassion literally means “to suffer together

.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. Compassion is not the same as empathy or altruism, though the concepts are related. - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/compassion/definition#:~:text=Compassion%20literally%20means%20%E2%80%9Cto%20suffer,though%20the%20concepts%20are%20related.

Based on this definition, compassion is at the far end of my bar of happiness. I do not feel compelled to search out people that are suffering.  I realize that compassion is something that I need to work on.

May you all have much happiness in your days.

Many blessings,

Judy

 

One Person Makes a Difference!

I seem to be doing new things daily, a change from where I was a year ago.  I wondered why I was moving forward, doing all these new things.  Then, I read this poem and I realized that I was being given a great chance to be in service, for you see, I am one!

 

Just One

Author Unknown

One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.

One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal

One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam lights a room
One candle wipes out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.

One step must start each journey.
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.

One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what's true,

One life can make a difference,

                                                            You see, it's up to you!

Many blessings,

Judy 

Seeing Beauty in Flowers

I love this time of year because I get to grow flowers and to buy uncommon flowers and plant them in the garden and in pots!  I love the color.  I love that the bees come to check them out.  I love the smell of the blossoms.  I love watching them grow and change.

There is beauty in all aspects of Nature for me.  Not everyone agrees that Nature is beautiful, but they do agree that parts of it are.  I love seeing the flowers that grow in people’s yards and the flowers out in the meadows of the parks.  The colors are amazing.  

The flowers, too, bring some healing to those who see them and look at them with awe and respect.  To be a flower is a very special task.  The growing season is so short, unless the flower is a perennial, and there is no telling when your flowers will be picked or eaten.

Flowers have a message for us:

• Don’t be afraid to shine your colours.
• Stand straight to get the Sun but be flexible when the wind blows.
• Put your roots down deep so that you can be sure of your foundation.

Many Blessings,

Judy

Spring Equinox March 20 2023

Nature and the calendar are not always in agreement.  Today, the calendar tells us that it is the Spring Equinox.  In the northern hemisphere, it tells us that the days will now be long and warm.  Most of the snow and cold are behind us. 

It tells us that the early flowers and herbs will be poking out their green shoots.  On the west coast, the spring bulbs will be growing and out in bloom.  

Nature announces spring by giving the birds a new, happier note to sing in the morning.  The robins arrive.  The rabbits do their athletic, complex mating dance.  All beings that hibernate come out of their dens.  

The world feels alive and vibrant. The world is healing, peaceful. Life feels tranquil.

Today, give thanks that we the seasons change and that the world keeps on spinning.  Give thanks for your family and friends and live this day fully.

Many blessings,

Judy