Written by Ecko Aleck, Global Indigenous Lead
Photo provided by Adam Ziorio Photography featuring Ecko Aleck of Sacred Matriarch Productions.
The Gregorian New Year has started. There is a tension in the air as the collective begins to truly awaken. The old ways of “working” no longer have a place to exist within our beings. We are craving transformation yet there is a blanket overwhelm of uncertainty.
In the Northern hemisphere of Indigenous cultures, our ancestors would still be in deep rest, celebration, ceremony and community. We would be present together in our sacred ceremony houses, performing and participating in natural ways of knowing and being. Nurturing body, mind, heart and spirit – fully immersed in a supportive environment for this season of dark and stillness.
Capitalism has pulled an illusive veil over our eyes that setting goals and resolutions each new year keep us in that same hamster wheel of moving towards something instead of just being. We get one shot a year with a “clean slate”, a chance to start fresh! Yet, if we are not doing any form of internal work, we carry those same hurts, colonial shame and fears with us into our future.
I am not rushing into the Gregorian new year with goals and resolutions. Instead, I commit to a practice of fully embodying the natural teachings of the land, to listen to the rhythms and to feel what is emerging for the collective. Instead, I am continually setting intentions at each new moon, manifesting sacred abundance and guidance, reflecting, releasing and celebrating at each full moon then holding space for rest as Grandmother moon wanes to her darkness again.
What if… We gave ourselves the same clean slate every single morning or moment that we give ourselves for a number on the calendar?
What if… We tuned in to a new (yet ancient) rhythm that our bodies are naturally craving?
What if… We aligned our entire work worlds with these rhythms?
What rises up in you when you read this? If you could throw everything away you’ve been conditioned to think is ‘normal’ and re-design it from the ground up… what would your every day look like? What gentleness and ease would emerge?
Take care of you, beautiful soul. This is your reminder that your magic emerges when you hold space to rest and listen. If you can envision the New World and are feeling the pull to the collective transformation, you are not alone. If you are starting your 2022 still craving rest and stillness, you are not alone.
ʔéxʷweʔƛ̓uʔ
Ecko
