What Is Essential Right Now?
Answering my own question, as promised, from The Hermitage of 2025.
This writing was created with no help from AI. This is me, fully human and imperfect. Always.
I find myself unexpectedly alone in my own house for the first time in months. There are no words to describe the peace of this very simple thing. I love my family. I do. And as a sensitive, creative introvert, I need my damned house to myself every once in a while.
As I sit here at my desk, the winter sun is reaching through the windows, embracing me, reminding me that there is still warmth left in this world. I’m typing on a keyboard that looks and feels a bit like an old typewriter, a gift from my gadget-happy husband who knows that I prefer tools that feel like something in my hands. My hands love a pen, too. And real paper notebooks to write in. My hands like to chop vegetables, gather herbs, shuffle tarot cards, and lift my cats into my arms. Lately, they’ve been asking to learn about carding wool or maybe making homemade paper out of old toilet paper rolls.
I am becoming my mother. And my grandmother. And my aunts/aunties.
The only thing that makes sense to my heart right now is to create my very own Council of Grandmothers (all dolls needle-felted by me…by hand)
What I know is that we cannot run from our inheritance. We can heal. We can grow. We can become more truly ourselves but, for better or worse, ourselves includes our history. I’ve been resisting this truth most of my life. Resistance is necessary, especially now in this world of horrifying “leaders,” and I will continue to find ways to resist them and help those who are more vulnerable than I. Resistance to my elemental foundation, my roots, might–as the Borg say–be futile (this strikes me as even more terrifying than it did in the Star Trek ‘90s now that the tech oligarchs actually are trying to assimilate us).
Which brings me to my Word-of-the-Year
I shouldn’t be surprised that my word-of-the-year turned out to be Elemental. After working through the same journaling prompts I write to every turn of the year, there it was, a delightful revelation on my page. This word has been floating around me for years in my yoga and magical practices, yet I still feel like I’ve been swatting it away like a swarm of mosquitos. I’m guessing it has something to do with resistance.
Not only have I been resisting my inheritance, I’ve been resisting my power. My power comes from my ability to be alone and my ability to reach out a gentle hand when needed. As I’ve mentioned before, my “soul card” is The Hermit. The Hermit is an elemental creature. The Hermit grapples with the complex, pulling at the threads to untangle the braid only to make it whole again. This is my power. My Elemental Power.
Take a look at the definitions I found for Elemental (capitalized because I want to):
Primary, foundational, essential, radical, root, primordial.
Embodying the powers of nature (strong emotions, blood and bones).
A supernatural force physically manifested by occult means.
Reclaiming my elemental powers demands that I also let go of anything that is blocking them.
Here is a list of what I will not take with me into the Elemental Hermitage of 2025:
The black hole of Social Media.
Toxic comparison.
Getting the “news” through other people’s reactions to what’s happening in the world.
Any form of news that sensationalizes people’s pain and suffering.
Other people’s opinions about how I spend my time.
Spending too much time on an ill-fitting website platform and its technical complications instead of WRITING and CREATING in my own room and on Substack.
Hours of sitting in a stupor because I don’t know what else to do with my overwhelm.
Trying to be something I am not and resenting it.
And to answer the question I posed last week: What in my life is essential…elemental?
My solitude wherever and whenever I can get it.
My family and all its complexities.
My community of artists, writers, healers, and Story Tenders.
My girlfriends (this should be second).
Writing time. Art-making time.
Mundane self-care like eating a little better, moving my body, going outside, sleep.
Nuts & bolts financial stewardship and home care.
RITUAL (daily, moon-related, seasonal).
Being of service in gentle, healing ways.
Becoming more and more who I am here to be.
I’m not here to pretend I’m some kind of motivational speaker. I’m here to remind you that you are allowed to find your OWN meaning in life. THIS, my friend, is elemental. What gives your life meaning? Start there. That’s what I’m doing. And I’m going to not only start there; I’m going to stay there.
With gratitude and love,
Holly
P.S. If you are feeling shook up by all the goings-on in the world and our country, I’ve found a simple practice introduced to me by meditation teacher, Tara Brach, to be very helpful.
Place your hand on your heart.
Say, “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
Seriously, it helps even if it’s just for a breath or two.
Beautiful!!
Love these.. neat.. Council of Grandmothers..🩷💫✨😊