Tomorrow is May Day. It’s also Beltane, a holiday that you may not be familiar with unless you’re from County Limerick or County Wicklow in Ireland, where the Beltane tradition has been constant from the earliest writings in Irish literature. Beltane/May Day marks the midpoint between the spring and the summer solstice, a time where the earth starts producing food, flocks start producing babies, and the heavy summer work of providing for the community and putting up for the cold months of winter begins in earnest.
Humans have observed and celebrated the changing of the seasons throughout recorded history, and that continues today. The winter holidays are wrapped around the winter solstice. Easter, Passover, and Carnival occur near or on the spring solstice. Summer solstice in June is when school winds down and vacations ramp up, and the fall solstice is when vacation season winds down and school ramps back up. Toss in an election, a spooky holiday and a food-laden one, and the fall solstice might be the fullest, scariest one of all this year.
Beltane celebrations feature a bonfire believed to have protective powers. While outside of Ireland, the observance of Beltane has been mainly kept alive by wiccans and neopagans, the feeling of Beltane is inside most, if not all, humans. We’re hard-wired to notice and adapt to the seasonal changes, so it only makes sense that we celebrate the onset of warmer weather and a more fruitful season.
Even if you can’t set your own in-real-life Beltane bonfire, there’s a bonfire in your heart you could feed.
Think about one change in your life you’d like to make before fall. Just one, and it doesn’t have to be major, though it can be. Focus on how you will feel once the change has happened – will you feel contented, excited, or over the moon? Think about the feelings the change will bring about inside you, not on how you will accomplish the change. Celebrations are about feelings, not process. If you need some guidance, here are three episodes of the world’s second-shortest podcast to spark ideas:
Want help amping up your sense of self-worth? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
Want to gain wisdom long before you go grey? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
Need help embracing the seasons of your life? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
Today, think about your heart’s desire. Write it down and keep it where you can see it often. Each time you read what you’ve written, find the feeling of having accomplished it. If you get chillbumps, you’re on the right track. If a small smile creeps across your lips, same. When puddles pop into your eyes, that’s your body telling you that what you’re feeling is right and true.
Enjoy the sensation of feeling your accomplishment as many times each day as you can. You’re training your brain to focus on what you want to accomplish, and your brain will be more likely to give you clues about how to accomplish your goal. Feed the fire in your heart and that bonfire will light up the pathway to your goal.
Wags,
Sandy Weaver
Program Director, Center for Workplace Happiness
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