Many I’ve talked to end the year 2021 exhausted. Time seems to have flown by and yet we still feel like we’re all treading water; stuck in the same position. I wrote the post, Reflections, below in 2019. It speaks to our innate ability to get back to what’s important, to the basics, to what Joni Mitchell advises in her Woodstock lyrics, “back to the garden.” It reminds us we are made of stardust, of natural elements in our galaxy and are filled with those same possibilities. There is always confusion and chaos in the process of change, of transformation; which brings to mind the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.” As we stand tired and worn on the threshold of another year of uncertainty, I still believe those who are willing will find their way “back to the garden” where their stardust will shine once more.
Reflections
“We are stardust; billion-year-old carbon,” these lyrics stuck in my head as Joni Mitchell sang her song Woodstock released almost fifty years ago. On the Eve of a new year, these words give me great pause for self-reflection on 2019 and on the closure of a decade. Like many, it makes me question: Where have I been? What have I done? Where am I going? It’s an annual reality check, time to decide what to hold, what to purge. Do my choices create empowerment or confinement? What do I believe? Who am I and why am I here? Mitchell’s lyrics continue, “We are golden; caught in the devil's bargain and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden.” Powerful words; powerful advice.
The human body is made of many elements found in the stars which includes carbon. Perhaps we are living, breathing manifestations of what was once a luminous part of our galaxy; a glimmer of light that shined on Mother Earth. As we shift into the new energy of 2020, I for one believe in the magical stardust of new possibilities and step into the new year with an intention to spend the next decade finding a way “back to the garden.” (original post December 2019)
Wishing you a 2022 filled with unlimited possibilities of shining tomorrows.