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Dear ,
This time of the year always reminds me of something that so often we tend to forget: Life is transient and finite.
In older times humans were much closer to nature and thus to the cycle of life and death and, I believe, much more aware of the gift that life actually is.
In our modern times we don’t want to know about this anymore. Life and death have become something that we are trying to manipulate and control with ever new measures and inventions.
We act as if we were bigger than the creator (whoever or whatever this might be); as if we had a right to create and a right to live. We have become arrogant and presumptuous and then we are surprised and shocked, when life shows us that it is still bigger than us, that it is transient, that it has an end and transitions into something else.
Yes, we are humans, but we are not different from nature. And nature shows us that there is a cycle of life and death. And death is necessary to make space for something new.
In constellations, representatives for “life” want us to connect, to see them, to be there for us. When someone represents “death”, it is usually a very gentle, powerful, grounded and deep experience, something holding space for us.
While I was writing these words, my eyes went to today’s date, and I realized it is the 31st of October. A day which is celebrated differently depending on where we live: In Mexico they celebrate “El Día de los Muertos”, in catholic tradition is called “All Saint’s and all Soul’s Day”, in the Celtic tradition they celebrate “Samhain”. All of these honor our ancestors and their passing into another realm, and they remind us of the transience and the finite nature of life.
In our modern times, we made it into a party that we call “Halloween”, where death is turned into a kind of carnival. A day where children dress up in costumes and get sweets, or even adults dress up as spooky figures and have fun. Far from connecting with life and death in a conscious and respectful way.
Just to clarify, this is not about right or wrong – I am just reflecting on our different relationships with life and death, and I wonder how much more conscious, responsible, and grateful we would live our life if we were more aware of the inevitable presence of death.
May the month of November remind you that life is a gift, a finite gift, and that it is up to us what we make of it.
In the spirit of love and reconciliation
Ursula |
