Blood Moon – Preparation
original image by Micky**
The herd had been assessed and only the best specimens were returned to the barn. These lucky few were the chosen ones – those which had the best chance of surviving the harsh winter. The water would freeze harder than iron. The wind would blow gales of ice and snow. The snow would drift, and the temperature would drop so low that we would begin to wonder if it would ever get warm again.
As I turned to look at the livestock chosen for slaughter, I couldn’t help but wonder whether they were in fact the lucky ones.
The kills were quick and clean. Over almost before they had begun. The carcases carted off to be butchered and salted. It was this flesh that would see us through the coming winter – this flesh which would ensure our survival.
I stood in the empty yard, the blood staining the earth between my feet. The cold weather was still a month or two away but there was already a freshness in the air. But I barely felt the chill breeze feeling only overwhelming gratitude for the lives of our animals which had been sacrificed this day.
Throughout the west we are becoming increasingly disconnected from our food sources. Scenes like the one described above are not experienced by the majority of us. Instead we are far more likely to pop into our local supermarket and collect whatever ingredients we fancy for that evening’s dinner.
So, in some ways we can’t appreciate the steps taken to prepare for the cold season by those living in closer communion with their environment. In fact, we often perpetuate the belief that we have somehow conquered the climate altogether. So when we find the heightened extremes of winter limiting our ability to travel, affecting the temperature inside our homes, we’re often caught unaware and unprepared.
This cycle I want you to consider what it would mean for you to prepare for the winter. It needn’t be in quite such an elemental manner as described here – it could be knitting yourself a cosy new scarf and purchasing a pair of fabulous boots. Or maybe it will be looking out your winter clothes, fitting your electric blanket, investing in a luxurious moisturiser.
Preparation requires us to be in harmony with our environment and be able to make reasonable estimates about what will be needed for the future. We need to be in tune with nature and with our own needs. This is the time for making sure that you get what will make your life beautiful, easy, comfortable, happy over this coming season.
And it’s also about letting some things go. We may find that we have to make choices over what to keep and nurture through till spring, and what we need to release with gratitude for what it’s given us and with recognition for how its release serves us throughout these colder months.
Whatever form your preparations take, keep with you a sense of awareness, forethought and thankfulness. Winter can be such a beautiful season, especially when we are ready for it!
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