March 23, 2005

• The Calm Before The Storm

  
  

  

  
  

  John Steinbeck
  Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.
  
  George Eliot
  It is never too late to become what you might have been.
  

  
  

  Henry Kissinger
  There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full.

  
  

  I can feel the wind of change coming ever closer. It's softly touching my cheek and rustles in my ear. I can smell it in the spring thaw and feel it in the tingling of every nerve. The universe hasn't finished with me yet!

  
  

  This is a time of change, growth and renewal for everyone. We shake off winter's blanket of cold darkness and yearn for the gentle warming light of spring. Stretching muscles long unused and letting our imaginations once again run free we believe that anything is possible, and the funny thing is - it is.

  
  

  Whether you celebrate Easter or Ostara or any other religious rite, the symbols are all around us. The robins have returned to their nesting places, the trees are in bud and the promise of rebirth is all around us. Of course the stores are full of easter eggs, chocolate bunnies and all the paraphenalia of the commercial bonanza that each holiday has become.

  
  

  Eggs are of course a symbol of fertility. In Ostara the white represents the Goddess and the yolk the God. The colouring of the eggs also has meaning that most people are unaware of. The circular bands around them represent the eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Where the bands cross form solar crosses (equal armed) representing the union of spirit and matter (or male and female). The geometric designs also have meaning. Triangles represent the three formed Goddess (maiden, mother, crone). Squares represent the earth. Ladders mean planes of existence, wavey lines water etc. etc. These ancient symbols are still reproduced on the tin foil of commercial foil wrapped easter eggs. Take a peek next time you are in the stores.

  
  

  Rabbits were also a symbol of fertility and also of luck. Even the baskets filled with grass have pagan roots. (pun not intended ) Sometimes we need to remember just how old the Earth really is and that each belief we hold came from an older belief.

  
  

  This has been (so far) a week of quiet reflection for me, mixed with tentative glimpses towards my future. I have stopped trying to accomplish everything all at once and deliberately am slowing down.

  
  

  I did manage to solve (I hope) my oil/gas/insurance dilemna. After phoning company after company with no luck at all, a gentleman whom I had left a message for called me back. He also couldn't help me, but directed me towards a company that could.

  
  

  I really must say here that everyone I have dealt with has been remarkably kind and even though they couldn't help, went out of their way to try and help. Anonymous people on the end of the phone lines have looked up numbers for me, company names etc. with no hope of benefit to themselves.

  
  

  The upshot is that I called Thermoshell. They told me that if I call on the day I get my key to the house they will send a man out the same day to inspect the furnace and tank. If it is acceptable, no problem. If it is not, they can provide something that is. Within 90 days a government inspector will call (!!) and check out my tank. I think that must be sufficient for my insurance company. Either that or I can hand them a knife and tell them to just cut out my heart and have done with it!

  
  

  I still have so much to do. Packing is of course the hardest. I want to have as much done before I get my keys on the 12th as possible so I can spend my time at the house working on it before my move on the 20th. Working full time (how inconvenient  ) makes it difficult because depending on how busy we were that night really reflects on how early I get up and how much I accomplish. As Henry above says, I don't have time for a stressful crisis!!

  
  

  I picked up a change of address form at the post office and mailed off my tax return. This is significant because it is the first piece of mail that has my new return address on it. I also mailed an Easter card to my parents. I have not seen or heard from them since January. I did receive an Easter card from them today simply signed "from" mum and dad. I have to admit that it made me cry.

  
  

  Today my goal is to empty my car of the boxes I have been collecting, lug them all upstairs and find a corner for them to lurk in until I am ready to fill them with my worldly goods. I then want to tidy the trunk and get my car washed all pretty for the long weekend.

  
  

  I am going to spend easter up north with the old hound and his family. They are always so kind and welcoming and I look forward to seeing them again. It seems impossible to me that it has only been a few months since we were last up there. So much has happened that it feels like a lifetime.

  
  

  It will be nice to feel the freedom of the road and get away from the chaos that is my apartment, if only for a couple of days. Then it will be time to gear up for the next onslaught. I truly feel this short interlude is the "calm before the storm", but this one will be a welcome, cleansing storm of renewal and growth.

  • 10:43 am
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