The Jewish Month of Tevet: The Beginning of Our Golden Year
/Aaaannnndddd...that’s a wrap people! Goodbye 2016. Later. Bye. Bye. Goodbye. Seriously, goodbye.
From Aleppo to Ghostship to Carrie Fisher, this year has been. It's been. Sometimes you can process your feelings by crying or yelling or laughing and feel better. And sometimes it's 2016 and you just feel shitty, for a long time.
The thing is...we made it people. We're still here. We're alive. We made it through a collectively horrifying year. We've gone through the stages of grief (or at least some of them): denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Wherever you are, it's ok. You 100% deserve to be living. I've said it before and I'll say it again: We need you now, more than ever. We also super duper need each other.
The thing about hard times is they bring us together, our movements are growing stronger and we have the opportunity to build with more depth and energy. How will you grow with the people you love in 2017? First being you. Then your friends, family, community, country, planet.
Tevet: Our Golden Year
The Jewish month of Tevet begins at the end of Chanukah. I love this. I love that the beginning of a new year lines up with the end of a slew of golden lights representing miracles we would never expect. We all have the power to collectively create a reality that's filled with the glow of unexpected rising resistance and beauty.
As we all know, sometimes the love of power reveals itself in terrible ways. This pisses us off. This, is potentially very good. Tevet, is the month of anger. Anger can be a very motivating force to move us into action. Anger can transform us or, it can deplete us.
We need protection so the anger doesn't turn on us and instead fuels our power. Tumeric is a very good remedy for transforming anger. I've been taking my friend Lizanne Deliz's (Eye of Crow Herbs) Tumeric Oxymel to help with this. (You can see from the almost empty bottle it's very good!) Golden milk is also blessing my table these days. Tumeric helps to reduce inflammation and keep our digestion smooth and strong.
My blessing for you: May the qualities of grounding, protection and transformation be the root of moving with focused anger to bring about justice to make this a golden year of miracles.
Miracles of 2016
Good people, let’s focus on some good things from 2016. Let’s feel good, for a moment about what went well.
Fingers crossed emoji now exists.
Ok, I can end my list. That’s great. That’s enough to keep the fires burning for a long time. Thank you emoji programmers who just caught up with the most necessary hand emoji we have EVER needed. Fuckin, how did that take so long? But yay, for now.
Ok, now for all the other miracles!
2 The DAPL pipeline was stopped because of the leadership of youth and elder indigenous people.
3. Lots of hugs were given to people we love.
4. Lots of meals were eaten together.
5. Harriet Tubman is replacing a patriarchal asshole on our $20 bill (hey money is energy peeps).
6. Bernie almost became president. Yes, I believe this to be true.
7. After 2 years we finished up our version of DIY Art School (formally DIY MFA) -- listen to the podcast on Congratulations Pine Tree here (episode #106).
8. Cultural icons like David Bowie lived and died and changed our lives. So did Prince and Carrie Fisher and Sharon Jones (just heard her Chanukah song, best Chanukah song ever.) and George Michael. It's a reminder of how close those who pass can still be to us.
Card for the Month:
Go!
(Yiddish: Gay! Yes, go is gay in Yiddish.)
This is the first month of the beginning of the Gregorian year. It's time to move our asses and get up and go. In all regards. Begin your resolutions dear ones. Including a greater love for yourself. Isn't that the root of all resolutions?
I would assert that self love is not an isolated event. I think there's a cultural understanding of self love and self care as taking time for "yourself," with baths and spa days and nice meals. There is nothing wrong with that kind of self love. It's completely necessary to take care of yourself, everyone deserves and needs that.
