TGIF, May 1!
I'm arriving at this day with a sense of timelessness, really...how about you?
Also, with a certain awareness of the double meaning of May Day:
1. The return of summer, with ancient pagan fertility celebrations
2. A distress call
Though there are many various traditions and rituals that take place on this day, I am not going to be dancing around a May Pole or dressing up in costume. You?
I am celebrating the flowers that are showing up, though! And celebrating the growth of a number of happy plants that are sprouting.
Do you plant a garden? Have you started seeds? Are you aware that each of these plants have their own meaning, purpose and frequency? Just by being??
The origin of the distress call comes from the French request 'to help me' = m'aider.
It's tricky - this concept of 'help.'
Years ago, I heard the phrase: 'help is the sunny side of control' - and it was a huge wake-up call for me. (I realized I was a little control-freaky...overly 'helpful.')
Now, I am happy to be of assistance, don't get me wrong. I am happy to 'help,' when it is requested - and yet, not at the cost of independence.
Because, in order to grow, we all move through being dependent, to being independent...until we finally recognize our interdependence.
And sometimes, when we 'help,' it can be detrimental. Have you ever been tempted to 'help' a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis? They need to do this on their own, to strengthen their wings, which allows them to fly. And as the saying goes: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
This May Day, full of new life and possibilities is also a day to recognize ourselves as evolving out of being passive participants to actively engaging in life, from a place of recognizing our interdependence with all that is. All we have to do...is something. The next step will become clear!