This coming week’s energy theme points you towards being aware of the little things. Originally entitled “Little Accumulation,” from hexagram 9 in the I’Ching, this week will be about noticing that feminine, receptive part of yourself that needs more time to accumulate strength and energy before moving on to the next thing.
What might this mean for you?
The wisdom of the 9 is that when your energy and strength isn’t up to the task, it’s o.k. to take a rest and gather your energy for further accomplishments.
Through a series of many small steps done well, you can accomplish great things.
Yet at the beginning of a new project it can feel daunting. Indeed, you may wonder, “How the heck am I gonna do this?” If it feels overwhelming, all you have to do is take one step. Do one small thing in the direction of your creation. And if it’s all too much, do yourself a favour and take a breather! Then, when it feels right and you get the energetic nudge to get up and get going, then follow that!
What if living your life, or creating a book, a song or a soup was nothing more than a series of small steps taken over time in a particular direction? Would it take some pressure off to know that you’re allowed to “take a breather” and not have to carry the weight of the entirety upon your shoulders? Whether it’s raising kids, solving a problem, completing a project, or making your art, remember that all you have to do is one little thing at a time.
In the spirit of the small, we’re excited to share a song that captures the love of small things! The Lost Words Blessing is a song inspired by Robert MacFarlane’s The Lost Spells ~ a book that encourages you to speak the things you see… especially when it comes to the lost words in your vocabulary.
Back Story…
The “small things” this song refers to are the words removed from the junior edition of the Oxford Dictionary since 2007. The editors of this edition, aimed at readers ages seven and up, eliminated many words that denoted nature… *“like acorn, bluebell, ivy, fern, moss, blackberry, dandelion, lark, raven, heron, starling, hazel, heather, goldfinch, grey seal, otter and kingfisher.
The editing body of the OED had determined that the words were of little and lessening use to the modern child. Youngsters weren’t hob-nobbing with hedgehogs and wrens (also excised) and frogs and buttercups (another casualty!), and so needn’t be introduced to words that served well only with regards to the out-of-doors. They excused their actions on the grounds that they needed room for other, newer words with greater relevance to the modern child. Like: attachment, blog, broadband, chatroom, database, committee, and voice-mail.”
And yet, in the spirit of the power that supports the little things, we give you this poem/song that celebrates exactly this. Enjoy!
The Lost Words Blessing Lyrics
Enter the wild with care, my love
And speak the things you see
Let new names take and root and thrive and grow
And even as you travel far from heather, crag and river
May you like the little fisher, set the stream alight with glitter
May you enter now as otter without falter into water
Look to the sky with care, my love
And speak the things you see
Let new names take and root and thrive and grow
And even as you journey on past dying stars exploding
Like the gilded one in flight, leave your little gifts of light
And in the dead of night my darling, find the gleaming eye of starling
Like the little aviator, sing your heart to all dark matter
Walk through the world with care, my love
And sing the things you see
Let new names take and root and thrive and grow
And even as you stumble through machair sands eroding
Let the fern unfurl your grieving, let the heron still your breathing
Let the selkie swim you deeper, oh my little silver-seeker
Even as the hour grows bleaker, be the singer and the speaker
And in city and in forest, let the larks become your chorus
And when every hope is gone, let the raven call you home.
Let us know how it was for you in the comments below.
We love hearing from you!
How sweet to hear this message and song: it’s disheartening to read that small, natural terms are replaced by technology.
“Enter the wild with care, my love
And speak the things you see”
It is indeed and yet it gave birth to something so beautiful.
To many more creations speaking of the things you see!