Eostre, Spring Equinox, Lent and the International Day of Happiness

Week 4 Lenten Project

“I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.” Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” Rumi

“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” Marianne Williamson

Yesterday morning, I drew “flexibility” from the Angel Cards.  The first thing that came to my mind was doing a back bend.  I haven’t done a back bend since I was 13, and that was… hmmm a long time ago.  But, the thought of doing a back bend has been on my mind.  It was one of the things I put down in my new year’s resolution.  Why?  Back bending was an item that came into my head when I was meditating on the wishes of my heart in 2015.  Crazy?  Crazy.

Mohamad Gandhi stated that happiness occurs when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.  I believe that in order for this to happen you need to be flexible.  Yesterday, my interactions with others left me with wanting to pound my head against the wall.  I wanted a project that I've been working on for six months to be done and off my desk.  However, others didn't think the same way. They wanted one more thing changed and discussed.  
After a lot of deep breathing, the only thing I could do was find humor in the situation.  I don't know if this is true for others, but it is difficult to see in the moment.     

Icing on the cake came in an e-mail my supervisor and I received on a Friday afternoon.  It was at this point I decided what I needed to do was a back bend.  Back bend modified that is.  I don't know what made me do it, but there I was bending my my body backwards over an office chair without arms or wheels.  The blood quickly rushed to my head.  I definitely saw things from a different perspective; my office space up-side-down and the ceiling.  And, it caused my supervisor and I to laugh.  The whole day we needed to just laugh.  

I think this is what spring is all about.  It is a time to step back and just laugh.  How can one not laugh, especially if you survived record level snows and polar vortex wind chills.   The yellow crocuses out in my garden they are laughing; they survived the winter months.  I think this is what Marianne Williamson meant in trying to recognize how things really are in the big picture - joyful.

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Middle English lente springtime, Lent, from Old English lencten; akin to Old High German lenzin spring

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Spring is like a perhaps hand

E. E. Cummings, 1894 - 1962

          III

Spring is like a perhaps hand

(which comes carefully

out of Nowhere) arranging

a window, into which people look (while

people stare

arranging and changing placing

carefully there a strange

thing and a known thing here) and

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps

Hand in a window

(carefully to

and fro moving New and

Old things, while

people stare carefully

moving a perhaps

fraction of flower here placing

an inch of air there) and

without breaking anything.

Ēostre/Vernal Equinox - Joyful Vows for Water

Joy of Clean Drinking Water

“Burn on, big river, burn on.” ~ Randy Newman

Walk between the raindrops by Donald Fagen

The River of Dreams by Billy Joel

CAYA is focusing on the element of water this year. I have decided to go along for the rafting ride by using their themes for my wheel celebrations.

 

Last Friday, S and I were standing on the porch after book club.  It had just started to rain softly.  I took a breath in and smiled.  The rain had finely changed its wintery scent.  I looked over at S and said:  “Smell, spring is here.  The rain has changed.”  We moved out from under the porch and into the rain, both breathing in its earthy fragrance. 

I was listening to NPR this past week.  The US Federal EPA put out their report on mercury levels in lakes, rivers and streams.  Ohio’s rivers were on the list.  There were officials playing down the report and others stating it wasn’t strong enough.  There was a group discussing how much this clean­-up was going to cost and how much the burden of cost was placed on businesses for preventive mechanism.  Health officials told about health conditions due to mercury exposure: neuropathies, hypertension, and kidney failure and memory loss.  

This story to me is familiar.  It reminds me of the stories that preluded the 1969 Cuyahoga River Fire.  The river had been polluted for decades from industries along the river.  Cleveland became associated with water pollution.  But one thing the public forgets, this was the tipping point.  People put aside their differences and the nation developed and implemented clean water standards.   

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Stink Spirit before the bath and soon to
reveal that it is actually ancient river spirit

All the Stuff that came out of the River Spirit

In Hiyao Miyazaki’s animated movie Spirited Away (2001), a stink spirit comes into the bathhouse.  The main character, Chihiro is forced to take care of it by treating it with respect and by giving it a bath regardless of the smell.  Chihiro showers the spirit with clean water and realizes that something isn’t right.  She begins pulling on what appears to be a stick piercing its side.  The stick turns into chains, bike, car…. And the stink spirit is transformed into an ancient river spirit.    We learn that water pollution has done this to the spirit of the river.     The spirit rewards Chihiro’s kindness with a healing biscuit.

Photos by: http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc51.2009/SpiritedAway/2.html
 

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We can all agree water is essential to life.  However, I believe many in my country have forgotten the joy that comes from having clean water.  We stick our glass under the faucet and take a drink.  It’s automatic like blinking.  It’s just like our easy access to a flushing toilet and a hot shower.  Call it taking it for granted or it’s something we don’t have to be concerned about – it’s something only those other places have to worry about.  Places where contaminated water cause severe diarrhea and death from Cholera, dysentery and parasites happens daily.  

I know several people who have been a part of the Marion Shallow Well Project in Malawi.   The purpose this project is to bring clean water by installing a shallow well and a pump in rural villages.   The overall project costs around $400 (US Dollars) and $5.00-10.00 yearly for maintenance.  The wells are built and maintained by the villagers.  The Project assists with the materials and training they can’t afford.  One of my friends described the celebrations that occurred every time when the clean water came out of the well for the first time – dancing, singing, music making and feasts.  There were joyful tears from parents who didn’t have to worry anymore for their children.       

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I have been following the blogger AskaWolfSong – author of Stone Soup and Heart Song.  Her posts describe how our waters are becoming so polluted and we need to sit-up and take action to help the spirit of our planet.  Recently, I read her essay about how the First Nations are calling for international healing prayers for our waters.  It is distressing to learn that our waters are becoming so polluted from farm run-off, industry and our unwanted stuff (i.e., plastic water bottles, Styrofoam cups, pop cans, and plastic bags). 

I think back to the Cuyahoga River Fire.  There is no joy in water without life.    

AskaWolfSong shared this wonderful concert by R. Carlos Nakai with me from Youtube recording.

R. Carlos Nakai at National Geographic's "Water Is Life" celebration on Martha's Vineyard. THIS FULL ONE-HOUR version includes rare video of Nakai sharing his LIVING PHILOSOPHY about the evolution of humankind and the flute music of various civilizations through time - along with an expanded selection of his Native American Flute music to flow with this celebratory water event
 

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Vow: Solemnly promise to do a specified thing ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary
 

Joyful: Feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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My joyful vow this year for water is to appreciate it more.  When it rains this summer, put the umbrella down or put my feet in a cold steam and give thanks.  I’ll be mindful each time I take a drink that I can drink safely.  I also vow to save $5.00 a week for others to have the joy I have.  The money will be placed under my CAYA “water jar” and shared with the Marian Shallow Well Project at the end of the year.