In the natural world, things know what they are about. Trees are about leafing. Water is about flowing. Fire is about burning. The soul is about being itself just as it is. With no interpretation.

Can you simply be yourself, letting your gifts leaf out upon your branches? Perhaps the gift of appreciation or of spreading joy wherever you go.

The natural world of the psyche is love in all of its forms. Yes, there is the sun that gives life to us all. But don’t forget the moon, that waxing and waning of emotions within us all.

Moon children are quiet and reflective, silvery and buoyant. They know how to float. I am not speaking of astrological signs but of soul movements shimmering like stars on the water. If you try and catch them in your net, you will come up empty. And yet they are there.

Let yourself alone. That is a tall order. To let yourself be in each cycle of nature and let it act on you as it will. Winter is a time for us all to go within and experience death and rebirth. This takes a commitment to being yourself, to come as you are.

Don’t worry about the impression you are making on others. They are caught up in their own inner journeys. Every now and then two souls will strike sparks, make a fire for us all, and we are the richer for it.

Occasionally a wandering gypsy will set up camp in your driveway and show you how to revel in your wildness.

And in the course of time, people will gather around your bed to pray you home.

A bright cardinal drops into a leafless winter tree. Gassho.

Vicki Woodyard