Odins Day Reflection : The Maypole

 

 Blessing to all on this Odin's Day, 

    As we began the week, my wife and I cut the maypole and will be procuring items for decorations and such as we look towards Saturday. We are celebrating early as it's when we will be surrounded by the most family and loved ones. 

    I've been reading the great Marcus Aurelius and I think every young person should get a hold of his work "meditations." It contains so much wisdom and is thoroughly a pagan work while also appealing to a more Christian worldview at times. There's much to comment on, but a theme I touched on last week also shows itself in his writings. The idea of accepting what is, what comes and doing our best to live with this acceptance. 

    Beltane and this time of year represents a great change, a great shifting of seasons and we experience this every year and we accept it as part of the rhythm of life. Change is the great constant of our lives. Our relationships change, our personal interests, our opinions etc. So much is dependent on this change. And so this time of year, as with all the seasonal changes, asks us to accept different things. As we change from Spring into Summer we are encouraged to allow the seeds that have been planted to take root and grow. Summer is the season of rootedness and becoming our true selves and living up to that potential. But Summer can also be hot, uncomfortable and full of drought, which sounds a lot like another word, doubt. When we find ourselves in times of change we can tend towards doubt, but the hope of the season is that we will grow into what we are intended to be and that a great harvest awaits at the end where the fruits will be enjoyed. 

 So as we plant the roots of our Maypole in the ground and adorn it with ribbons and flowers, a great symbol of fertility and growth, may it cause us to examine those things that we are cultivating in ourselves and may we root ourselves and prepare for the coming season of harvest. 

 May we be open to this time of year, accepting change, and may we place doubt aside. 

-Jacob