Shifting into Spring?

Today marks the last day of winter in my part of the world. Tomorrow will be the Spring Equinox. But winter does not seem to be going out "gracefully".  It's grey and bitterly cold and storms are predicted.  People don't seem very welcoming of this latest storm.  Many people I talked to seem quite bitter to even have to be considering yet another storm.  They think it's too late for heavy snowfalls, cold winds, and snow shovels. Some people just refuse to believe it's going to happen and claim it will just "turn to rain" and not accumulate. Hmm...

We have been in a "shift" for a long time. Maybe we are always shifting, but today that seems magnified to me as nature is shifting from winter to spring and yet clinging perhaps a bit to the winter side of the equation? 

In fact, I keep seeing and hearing the word "shift".  The weather forecast even claimed that "..a slight shift could greatly affect the amount of precipitation". Hmm...

In my opinion, it's good to be a "shifty character".  It means you are open to change and evolution and development.  But in folklore and  movies "shifty characters" are not considered a good thing.  They are seen as devious creatures with something to hide, something "up their sleeve", something a bit evil or at least mischievous.  Seems like for centuries we have been just a wee bit afraid of "shift".

As we move towards the Spring Equinox even the moon seems to get involved.  Today marks a Waxing Half Moon in Gemini according to my We'Moon 2012 book. Gemini's are jugglers. They like to consider possibilities, negotiate multiple options, rearrange things.  The moon in Gemini contains an energy that speeds our thoughts and nerves.  Maybe that's why we're trying to already be in "spring mode" when in fact, that might be just a wee bit premature- at least in my part of the world.

There are some Bach Flower essences that can help you adjust to the shift. In fact, to some extent that's exactly what Bach Flowers do. They help you adjust to slight shifts so you can maintain your balance while changing to be all that you can be. It's about adapting during changing times and situations. Growth means change. Change is good. 

If you're feeling the Gemini juggle influence and you can't make up your mind which world you want to be in, whether you should get the garden ready or hunker down with your knitting, the Bach flower Scleranthus might help.  It's useful to help you decide between two things.  At some point during a shift you have a foot in both worlds and that can be quite painful; dangerous even!  Scleranthus might help you make the choice between going forward and going back. 

Walnut might also be a helpful Bach Flower essence to get you through atmospheric shifts life Gemini moons and equinoxes. Walnut helps provide protection from change and allows your body to adjust to both major life changes and subtle influences- both known and unknown. Walnut can help you move forward free of the past, letting go of what might have been. It helps you be  unencumbered and unburdened by old patterns and willing to accept changes, methods and experiences.

If you're feeling you're not ready for Spring because you vowed you would do something this Winter that didn't quite get done, you might be trying to hold on to the past. If that's the case, Honeysuckle would be a good essence for you. People that need Honeysuckle don't necessarily maintain attachment to the past because it was "so great".  In fact, more likely the opposite is true.  We hang on to the past because we are full of regret- often for things we didn't do.  Honeysuckle helps you move on to a new season, a new shift, a new way of being without regret.

I keep running into people that seem angry that the weather might not be cooperating with the calender.  I think Cherry Plum might be a helpful essence if you're feeling this way. Cherry Plum is for fear and we do fear change. Cherry Plum addresses the fear of losing control.  That seems to be why people might be mad about an upcoming storm.  They were just starting to feel they were more in control on the drive to work- no worries about icy conditions.  They thought they could predict what the temperatures would be like, as though planting seasons could be planned around calender dates rather than atmospheric conditions. If you're trying to tightly maintain control in the shift, a few drops of Cherry Plum might help you let go and let be.

Of course, if the thought of more winter weather when it's "supposed" to be Spring just has you feeling cranky, Winter Irritation, may be the combo you're looking for  http://pixiedusthealing.blogspot.ca/2013/01/winter-irritation-case-for-bach-flowers.html

Today's picture is actually of a pretty shifty character. I found this guy while walking the other day.  Depending on your imagination, he may look to be about 8 feet tall.  In reality, he's only about 5 inches in total length and is melting by the moment. I found him on a very bright sunny day and it seemed the perfect picture of the shift between winter and spring.  The sky was so blue his body looked brilliantly white and his whiteness made the sky look bluer, clearer, and full of sun.  His smile was a bit crooked. He looked pretty shifty and yet, I don't think there is anything to fear.  If you look really close, you can see that he seems to have made a top hat out of a cloud so that his head isn't really quite bare.  I didn't plan that with my camera- that's the kind of shifty stuff that such characters do all on their own. 

I have no idea who made "Mr. Shift".  Maybe he just "appeared".  I suspect he will soon be gone as quickly as he came. I wish him safe passage and hope to see him again... next year!

The Boss of Me

So at 2am this morning, daylight savings time is officially over for the year and time, as we agree on it, is moved back one hour. We moved it ahead in March and I wrote about the whole notion then too http://pixiedusthealing.blogspot.ca/2012/03/time-adjustments.html

Usually I'm pretty happy about this "fall back" concept of time.  I really like my sleep and for years I have bought in to this notion that miraculously I got an extra hour of sleep last night.  What was I thinking!! I guess something in me has changed, because this year I just can't buy into that at all and I can't believe I ever did!

First of all, the idea of this "changing time" was always explained, at least in the grade school I went to, as a way to help farmers.  Supposedly this would give them more daylight to work in. Seriously??  In the early 1900's, before the days of automated feeding and milking, I think you would have been pretty hard pressed to find a successful farmer that relied on an alarm clock to tell him when to get to work in the morning! I don't want to get into the notion of a conspiracy theory, but I just can't any longer believe that was the real reason.  I wonder if anyone gave the rooster an alarm clock, and if so, did someone sneak out at 2am and switch it back an hour?

In the days leading up to this time switch this year, I've read media accounts of how great this weekend is for many people.  Apparently the majority of North Americans are sleep deprived and to have this extra hour is quite a boost. Seriously??? You relied on the notion of time of day to "allow" you to sleep longer?

I wrote a Children's Story called "The Boss of Me".  The concept is that sometimes you have a lot more choice and control than you might think. Today I'm thinking adults can maybe apply that concept as well.

Here's the thing.  Someone else might tell you what time you need to be at work.  But you can choose what time you get up in the morning.  You are the boss of you!  Someone else might tell you to switch your clock back an hour but you can choose what you  want to do with that "extra" hour and whether or not you believe you've gained anything in the first place. You are the boss of you!

In my opinion, if you're sleep deprived, it has much less to do with what the clock says, as it has to do with what you are doing with your "time".  You might have to have an email account, but you can choose when you check your messages and respond back.  You only have so many hours in the day (according to our concept of time which is suspicious in the first place), but you do get to choose what all you want to fit in, and cut out of, that time. You are the boss of you!

If you're having difficulty believing in your ability to choose, the Bach Flower essence Cerato might help.  It is for people that don't trust their own judgement and decision making. It could be for farmers that are waiting for someone else to tell them when to get up in the morning and when to shut down at night. If you find yourself seeking advice from others rather than trusting your own gut feelings- this Bach is for you.

If you believe deep down you know what is, and isn't, right for you but you're putting on a mask and pretending it's okay, Agrimony might be the Bach Flower essence for you. It's for farmers that know they would be better off going to bed  and getting up earlier but they "go with the flow" of what everyone else is doing rather than set off an argument.

If you think you should be, and could be, the boss of you, but don't risk taking on that challenge for fear of failure, Larch might be the Bach Flower for you. It's for farmers that know deep down they are tuned in to and in sync with the cycles of nature but are afraid to follow their intuition in case they sleep in!

If you've refused to change your clocks and have started a blog about destroying Daylight Savings and asked people to sign a petition, Vervain might be the Bach Flower for you. Being the boss of you doesn't mean you become the boss of everyone- just you.  Vervain types can get a little over-enthusiastic in their efforts to boss everyone and a few drops of the essence can help them be more tolerant of how others act. If your irritation over the whole "time change thing" has kept you awake through that extra hour- try some Vervain.

In my opinion, we often give up our control because of fear. Sometimes it isn't easy being the boss of me. This fear of losing, or letting go of, control may be an indication for the Bach Flower essence Cherry Plum.  http://pixiedusthealing.blogspot.ca/2011/10/cherry-plum-when-control-is-world-view.html Cherry Plum can help you think and act rationally in your position as Boss of Me.

"The Boss of Me" hasn't yet seen the light of publishing yet. Maybe I'll spent that extra hour today working on that.  Maybe it's all about timing...