122: ENOUGH ALREADY!
WED 20 OCT 15:56 - Mooning Monthly happily going without but getting plenty.....
Happy Hunter's Moon dear friends
Back in the day, the Hunter's Moon was the last under which to trap, kill and preserve game in preparation for the long winter months ahead. Indigenous cultures rarely took more than they needed from nature, understanding the sacred bond between their survival and the survival of those creatures upon which they preyed.
The sentiments of taking 'enough' are hard to find in the aisles of your average supermarket these days and the pressure on our time and energy to immediately provide for ourselves and our families as well as hold down a steady job are proving increasingly detrimental to our well being.
We'll be hunting down some respite from the steady build up of pressure under this Aries Full Moon. Stuff will be coming to a head and we will need all available steadfast Aries courage to stipulate when enough is enough.
Tension isn't always a bad thing of course. To a degree we need a certain amount of stress to elicit action. This is therefore a great moon to make good things happen - to push boundaries for bright new tomorrows unburdened by the past.
Inspired, affirmative action is therefore order of the fortnight. If we're feeling overwhelmed by the building tide of demands on our time and energy, this is an excellent period to withdraw into the self contained Aries influence of this moon and concentrate SOLELY on soul matters: the stuff we love, that makes our hearts sing and life worth living.
Nothing matters more than the Soul. It is the still small voice beneath the inane busy chatter in our heads. It is the bedrock of our being, the foundation of our fundamentals. It is the connection we feel to All that is, was and ever will be in the same eternal moment. It is our Divine Self, our existential truth and best mate. It is the relationship on which we can always rely, from which we never separate - even in death - but which we ignore to our detriment.
The Soul gives, without thought of return if we are open to receive, and guides should we have ears to listen. It is the same divine spark that illumines and animates every human, creature and living form. It IS our nature, our being, our vulnerability and invincibility in One, and all that truly exists.
It has been called Love by many and I like the word. In greeting every person that we meet firmly in the knowledge of our irrefutable Soul/Love connection, the world of humanity becomes a more humane, equitable, respectful and peaceful place to dwell.
So why not change the world for the better under this Hunter's Moon, and pursue the Soul as our quarry; our prize for the chase into self knowledge? Its lair is not far. It sits right here, within the earthy burrows of our being, the indwelling essence from which we emerge in flesh and blood. Why not seek it out Mooners, if not already familiar with its full acquaintance? It will not run. On the contrary. Once located and engaged it will faithfully abide by our side through thick and thin, unshakeable, fearless and comforting where once it appeared mysterious, elusive and untamed.
The Soul is our heritage, legacy and reward; a birthright and refuge beyond the cycles of birth and death. It is the bounty for which we vainly scour and grope on a daily basis, hungry hunters all, searching forever outward, always in the wrong places. Let's be quiet, be still. It's in here, now, rising up from our hearts, purring like a lost pet, full of wisdom to be housed and cherished. It is drawn to the bait of our living breath, the pulse of our desire to seek. It is ours always... and finally we realise we dwell within It, inviolate, inseparate. No kill will ever be necessary.
The hunt is simple should you answer the call:
1. Sit in a quiet space with your back straight and eyes closed.
2. Concentrate on your breath to the exclusion of all thought.
3. Don't worry when thoughts pop up - its natural - but with even a minimum of practice, the cluttered thoughts eventually calm down and occasionally stop.
4.There, in the prolonged awareness of the silent space between thought a new inner dialogue begins, that of the Soul.
Don't take my word for it. Dive in, dissolve and enjoy.
BURNT WOOD - SCULPTURE INSTALLATION AT COP26 I am delighted to announce that my recent sculpture installation BURNT WOOD is to have pride of place on the concourse at the UN International Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow during the first two weeks of November. 5m in length and 4m wide and tall, the work is a weighty interactive piece made from 100% recycled plastic in collaboration with an award winning, carbon negative recycling plant in North Wales. Despite it's clear representation of five burnt trees rising from a barren block landscape, I hope it proves to be a social focal point at the conference, on which people can play, sit, lounge and engage with the vital issues of our times. As mentioned at the start of this missive, stuff is coming to a head, not least in the evolving climate disaster of our own consumerist making. Will COP26 find sustainable, workable solutions for the benefit of the entire planet, its population and life sustaining biosphere or will it merely paper over the ever widening cracks in the foundations that support us all? Will the rich accept that they have to admit responsibility for the vast majority of climatic problems causing untold suffering in poorer nations? (LA Times editorial) How will they redistribute their wealth in order to ensure the well being of those vulnerable to climate change? At the heart of the issue is a consumerist culture we have accepted by default. Expectations of luxurious living without open acknowledgement of the environmental costs has us perched on the edge of disaster - for many it has already arrived. The solution is available but not one that many people in positions of wealth, privilege or power want to recognise: as a species we must create and consume less of everything. We must care for and repair the things that we already have in abundance (eg cars) and wisely reject the incessant supportive baying from Governments the world over for the Capitalist model of economic growth, the relentless pursuit of the new and shiny, that we have been complicit in creating. I highly recommend reading the insightful George Monbiot article 'Green Growth' doesn't exist in The Guardian last month. He sets the culturally heretical ball rolling with a discussion about even 'green growth' being unsustainable. It's a conversation we need to familarise ourselves with but one which all the major UK political parties avoid like a pandemic. In our own lives we can start to make a difference. Here in the UK, as we complain about the sudden decline of available products for purchase because of recent breaks in the supply chain, we could instead be considering, in a truly positive sense, how we can happily go without. Can we be the first of a new generation of 'Happy Have Nots' , consciously determined to live with less fervent consumer demands, wasting less and nurturing more? Perhaps, in so doing, we can free up more time from the pressures of our working schedules to enjoy the simple, life enhancing pleasures that cost nothing. Under this Aries Hunter's Moon, let's hunt down the Soul in our thoughts, words and actions, that it's abundant wisdom might point towards the ultimate quarry: to consciously enlist our behaviour for the benefit of All. With love 'til next time Mark
Next month's edition of MOON LIT features the delightful poetry of Ella Young. Born in North London in 1942 she is now a cycling grandmother who loves being in nature, singing and dancing. She has written throughout her life, a champion of Love in all its forms as she continues to lyrically process the emotions and experiences of a life well lived. She now lives in Devon where she is a fervent environmental activist.
Subscribe for free HERE to ensure her love laced melodic ballads of joy, fury, sadness and loss bring their harmonising influence to the chattering clutter of your inbox on the day of publication.
Nancy Govern's timely hymns of healed hostility still tap their tempo across the the last edition of MOON LIT and is still available to enjoy here: MOON LIT 10. Well worth a tip toe in that direction....
FULL MOON MARKS
EACH MONTH DURING 2021 WE WILL CHART THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SINGLE, YEAR LONG LUNAR INSPIRED DRAWING BY ARTIST AND FELLOW MOONER MARK WEIGHTON
MOON 10
32 x 24cm charcoal on paper