February 2015
Welcome --
"Gung Hay Fat Choy" ~
(Have a prosperous and good year.)
(Chinese Greeting)
Here's to the Chinese New Year! I've purposely chosen this time of year instead of the classic new year or a religious new year. I thought is was a great reminder of how metaphors can speak to us and remind us of our traits.
Very basically, in Chinese Astrology, people are considered by the attributes of twelve animals, based on the year they were born. Using this paradigm, I'm a snake. Does that mean I hiss and spew venom? Actually, only when provoked ….
While this is not an inaccurate description of how I sometimes behave, it's a bit reductive. Let's broaden the perspective a bit.
Snakes meander like a river -- they don't move in a straight line from Point A to Point B. Sometimes they even look like they're going backwards to go
forwards.
In the right ground cover, they can blend into their surroundings, waiting, biding their time until the exact moment to act.
Both of these attributes describe me well.
Snakes also molt -- literally shedding their skin to reveal the new one underneath. Yet, like birds who lose their feathers, it's a process. The peacock doesn't wake up one day without a tail, nor does the snake's skin drop off revealing glistening new scales. Rather, the snake drags it's half released outer skin along with it, until it naturally
releases.
For me, this molting metaphor is a great reminder of change and that it's an ongoing, dimensional process. It takes the time it takes and will resolve itself in its own time.
I invite you to get to know your animal and when
you're unsettled by a situation or person:
Stop.
Breathe -- take several
breaths
if needed.
Check in with your Bodymind.
How is your animal behaving?
How might your animal behave differently?
It's just another way to unload the
emotional charge of the moment and respond to it in a different way.
This new year is the Year of the Sheep -- may it not be a Baaaaaaaaad one for us …….
Onwardssssssssssss ~
"The journey is the reward."
(Chinese Proverb)
