I know it's over 100 days until our sacred festival of Spring, but since it's starting to get cold out there, and the snow has/is/is going to fly, let's warm your thoughts to Spring. How are you going to bring in the spring? Most of us do things like spring-cleaning; spring shopping, dusting off the sports equipment cetera. That is common stuff, but I am talking about the five areas of readiness:
- Physical
- Mental
- Psychological
- Spiritual
- Emotional
I will discuss each in separate blog entries, so you can comment on them individually. Each holy holiday the Celts celebrate requires preparation in these five areas. If any is left out, something will be missed in preparing, celebrating and/or winding down. When I mention Spiritual, I do not mean the religious meaning, but the excitement/the spirit of the respective celebration. For those who wish to make this a religious experience that can easily be incorporated into the Féis. (Féis, (pronounced Fesh) is the Irish word for festival.) I welcome comments on this topic, so please, if you have anything to say regarding Oimelc (Imbolg), please, do not hesitate. If you have any questions, please post them too. If I cannot answer them, I know people who can.
Well, lets start with the Physical part first, shall we? This is the easiest part, but it seams like the hardest, only because most people have a mental block towards getting ready Physically. What one needs to do is simple:
ReplyDeleteStretch to avoid injury during Spring activities. Keep stretching throughout the winter daily. It only takes a few minutes. The best time to do this is ether right after waking up, so you can wake up better, or right before going to bed, so you can relax and go into a nice restful slumber. The rest is getting toned. I'm not talking about going to the gym, but doing things like walking to the store (if the store is 2 km or less away). That will help your lower body by walking and your upper body by carrying your goods back home. If you need to drive, park a few blocks away. The more walking one does the better you will feel, and the better shape you will get in. Mentally, it may seem like a lot of work, but if this is how your mind is thinking right now, you have to push through it. If it is VERY cold and you have children with you, than you should take alternative transportation, like the bus, or if you have to, your own vehicle. If you are by yourself, than do the walking. The most important thing you can do though is stretch.