The lunar new year has dawned…and the traditional celebration goes for 15 days. I anticipate another family gathering this week to mark the end of this festive period.
Celebratory it may be, I do not mark time with festive seasons, whether they be Christmases or new years or lunar new years. Oddly, not birthdays either.
I see time through the changes in my life – noticing the altered routines, the varying calm and turbulence, joy and sadness, the people entering and leaving my life, the meanings held in those moments. I watch these “seasons” come and go, remembering the etched events that led to the transformations.
So it is that a new chapter in my life begins, coincidentally this time around the lunar new year which is about leaving the past behind and welcoming the future with all the “goodness” of life – good health, good fortune, abundance and harmony.
Two years ago my son left home. It felt surreal, and because of the busy-ness of life and the speed with which it happened, I belatedly acknowledged but failed to celebrate this significant moment. Watching as he flourished over the last couple of years, I can honestly say he made a sound decision and one I supported.
Now more mindful, I am watching my remaining child (no longer a child, it would seem) break free from the expectations of her lifetime. I was privy to her struggles as she sought to express her heart’s desires – ikigai, raison d’être. To allow herself to be seen, and to show up each day is not easy. It is a reminder for me to pay attention and see as well.
On its face, this new path seems through conventional lens wrought with challenges. And I marvel at this agent of change who has the courage to step into and confront the cracks in her life, to embrace an evolving identity. Like the Japanese art of kintsugi, I am assured through the strength in her vulnerability and power of conviction that she will continue to overcome obstacles in her way.
Meaning, you ask. Well, it is a time of renewal for me – to enter a phase of new connection with my young adult – the parental role and responsibilities evolving, and an era of new possibilities and choices. And like her, I am gathering up courage to step into an unknown future. So exciting!
When did you last marvel at the courage of a fellow traveller of life?
When did you last see possibilities and choices in an unknown future?
~ FlorenceT
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MEANINGS AND MUSINGS 