Samhain and Grief.

I feel acutely aware of the need to Grieve The Dead this Samhain - and cannot help but think of the 5 MILLION who have died during the #covid_19 pandemic, and all those left to grieve. Nor can I ignore the Billions of other souls - human and otherwise - who are suffering and dying in the wider struggles for sustainability and survival brought about by our own self created climate crisis.

And this Hallowed Eve, the Veil feels thick with all that pain, and grief, and sorrow…

And I hope that we are able to take comfort in whatever faiths we have that although they are no longer with us physically, the memory and their ‘spirit’ lives on, and bids us to do the same. 🙏🏻 

And so, I take hope and strength in the Mysteries - in the knowledge that “all things change, but life continues on”. Death is inevitable, but only a transformation; and though we cannot avoid suffering, we can yet learn from it, and grow to become better because of it. 

And so I embrace my Shadows, and nurture the seeds of Hope within me, in the visceral Deep Knowing that LIFE itself is tenacious and strong - and life WILL survive. As we will: if only we learn to grieve what is past - but embrace the hope and the inevitability of creating a better future. 

“For the Earth is a witch
And we still burn her…
But to us the Earth is a healer, a teacher, and a Mother - a weaver of the Web of Life that keeps us all alive.
SHE gives us the vision to see through the Chaos,
She gives us the Courage: it is our will to survive!” (The Burning times / Christy Moore)

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