Dear reader of signs,
Welcome to day five of my ‘Reading the Signs’ June challenge! It’s been a hot and sunny bank holiday in Ireland, so I’ve spent much of the day keeping cool with the low key solution of keeping certain windows shaded in the afternoon.
This morning, just after sun-up, around 5.30 am, a large wasp barged into my bedroom via a small open window, sounding like a Zeppelin, and proceeded to throw a tantrum when it became trapped between the curtain and the glass. I gently escorted him out again. Don’t mess with wasps, they are bad tempered and seem to enjoy stinging (one of its brethren got me a few weeks back, and it was very painful).
Such is life, one minute you are asleep and the next you are the designated wasp bouncer.
Today I pulled the card ‘Community’ from the Old Ways Magick Oracle by Naomi Cornock, a slim deck but full of beautiful cards.
The full moon (and it’s full at the moment) is behind these intertwined wolves, and there is a great deal of trust and affection in their faces. I also noticed that symbol for Taurus, the bull, hanging in the front. That hints towards earthy, practical connection.
I felt slightly hit in the gut by this one. Human beings are essentially social animals and we require a friends network. I know I lean heavily on modern communications (broadband, mobile phone networks) to stay in contact with my close mates, who are scattered around the globe.
I live in a somewhat rural location (five minutes to a village, thirty minutes to the city, so nothing too remote) yet over the years I’ve managed to make a few good friends locally. Our modern world means that people are more likely to move away, and I’ve had a number of heartbreaks when people I loved dearly departed this island to pursue their dreams.
You want them to be happy, but it’s hard to say goodbye.
I make an effort to meet friends in person as often as possible. As wonderful as it is to message your pals, nothing beats having a sit-down chat with a chum. Honestly, just thinking about it makes me smile.
I took this card quite literally today. It served as a reminder to write that introduction to a small online group I’ve joined, to follow-up on the suggestion for a meet-up one evening with friends, to register for a virtual meeting for a grant authority, to join a zoom chat scheduled for this week. My calendar suddenly filled up with dates.
And I also pondered how Substack seems truly interested in fostering a community of writers and readers here who share their stories and thoughts, and encourage powerful conversations.
Since I’ve been actively using Substack for the last six months (I was a reader long before that) I’ve noticed that I’ve had to re-train myself to write comments, post Notes and participate in chats. The previous five years on most social media had been a long and wearying education in the futility of having an honest engagement without someone barging in — like that angry wasp — and harshing everyone’s mellow.
I’d become cynical and careful online. Wary of being honest or genuine. The issue with that unconscious calibration is that before you know it a cautious hesitation creeps into other interactions.
And here I am now, reading so many incredible and touching stories / fiction / poetry from people around the world, and participating in their spaces. I’m daily reminded of the variety of human thought and experience and yet how similar we all are. It is a sense of e x p a n s i o n after years of contraction.
I’m responding by being more myself online than I’ve been in years.
And this prompts me to be more myself in all situations.