A Long Winter’s Night – Harmony
Posted By Randy on December 27, 2011
“Relax the Eyes, See The Candle ‘Breathe’ ~ Now Take Time ~ Take Time for Reflection – Thank Your Ancestors, Regain your Direction & Become ‘Ready’….” ~ Master at Arms James A. Keating
For those caught up in its currents, a lot of you are now in that all too familiar state of holiday depletion and not quite rightness that comes of a combination of too much drinking, excessive eating of unaccustomed things at irregular intervals, too little sleep, and the throbbing head pressure that inevitably results from the exercise of diplomacy by amateurs. Some of you are constipated, some in the midst of migraine attacks, and still others both. By now, some of you have been, are presently, or shortly will be, in jail. By New Year’s Day, some of you will be dead.
The Winter Solstice has passed, a new year is born and the days grow longer, but for all truly practical reasons, winter is still coming. Take a moment to sit back, relax, and be in the moment as you find that rhythm of breathing you truly need right now, even as the candle has found its own.
Meditate on the advice of Wise Ol’ Uncle Jim. Our calendar year begins with its most challenging months, and you will need to find Nature’s harmony within yourself to meet them.
I like your post. Well said.
Yes, challenging, but beautiful months. I look forward to walking the forest on a snowy day, or in moonlight; to beautiful days with skates on ice and fire on ice, to brushing snow from conifer boughs, and, oh yes, to outdoor breakfasts of bacon and beans!
As beautiful as they are challenging Laurie. Far too often seen as a time of death, Winter is a magickal time that I would never want to miss. The common practice of “snowbirds” migrating south to Floridian condos every autumn never made sense to my way of thinking.
If Diana and I find ourselves down wind of your place while one of those outdoor bacon and bean breakfasts is on the go, you may find yourselves set upon! That’s our kind of breakfast! We’ll soon be putting this year’s blackberry wine into the works so breakfast be damned, it’s just really sexy juice after all. One shouldn’t show up empty handed.
I love that quote, and am a great admirer of “Uncle Jim” Keating’s work. Never met the man, but I consider him to be one of my teachers along with the people I have actually trained with. I put you in that esteemed list as well ,Randy, for the help you have sent my way (things are working out much better!!!).
In the Yiquan system I trained in, we were taught that the 3 weeks or so around the Winter Solstice were the height of the “Yin” season. The training changes during this time, much more inward-focused, and the “candle quote” above goes right along with that mind set. So I am thinking about my Ancestors and past teachers who pointed me to the martial way through lots of blood, sweat and tears (not the band from the 70’s). I’m older now but still train their arts (just differently)–you and Uncle Jim know what I’m talking about 🙂
Thank you Gary. I too regard Jim as one of my teachers. We correspond semi-regularly by e-mail, and right now we’re working to schedule a telephone yarn that I hope will become at least a seasonal event. I’m in the Atlantic time zone while he’s in the Pacific one so there’s a 4 hour difference, plus we’re both self employed, as are you, so you can see that presents its own challenges, but we’ll get it going. A periodic phone yack is also something you and I should organize soon.
I was very interested to learn of the way the Winter Solstice period influences your training, and yes indeed my Friend, I do understand your reference to training differently as life goes through its own seasons.
This “Long Winter’s Night” event is going to be an annual thing, as with “Dark Sentiments”, and I would ask you to consider writing a guest article for LFM on the Winter Solstice and the “Yin” season, particularly as they influence your training methods and mindset. I’m thinking of publication in next year’s series since there’s not much left of this one. I think you are in a unique position to speak on the subject.
A resounding “yes” to all of the above, Randy. Why, the possibilities are endless–and I look forward to some phone conversation although I certainly write better than I speak. And I always look forward to your LFM postings.
I’m happy to hear it! You’ve got lots of time to get your thoughts together before publication date … unless of course, you want to make an earlier submission for consideration sooner. Also, if you check the shiny new “Contributors” page that just went live here today, you’ll see we add a photo along with a short bio on anyone who does LFM writing. Think about that too. We won’t need it before your first article goes up for publication, but they need to be together.
So you say you write better you speak … are you saying you don’t talk good?
“So you say you write better you speak … are you saying you don’t talk good?”
Well, I AM an Italian from New Jersey, so wadda youse think?
Actually, it’s nothing like that moronic TV show “Jersey Shore” (I’ve never watched it, never would). I lived at the Jersey Shore (Lavallette, NJ) for 8 years and my parents had a house there for 30 years. There are definitely pockets of people like those on the tv show, but the majority are nothing like that.
But I can do a good impression of a guido: “Yo Vinny, get me a gabagool sangwich….”