Samhain – Memento mori – Celebrating life

They say at Samhain, the first of November, the veil between this world and the other world, the world of our ancestors, spirit, souls, magical beings is very thin.

They say you can get in connection with the realm of spirit and can deeply connect with the fact that you are a mortal being and only have a limited time, at least as we define time, on this earth.

With the start of November we give thanks to those who walked this planet before us, who influenced us, who played an important part in our lives. 

They’ve already made it to the other side, and when we think of our own death, our finite time here, it can become scary but why not let it become a celebration of death on the one hand and also a celebration of life?

It can make you question if you use your time wisely, if you went into a direction that doesn’t feel good anymore. Maybe you went on a path you were told that this is how you should live your life, that this way will give you security and contentment but you only feel trapped.

Memento mori

Thinking about the time, the time you may have left to live, makes you contemplate those things.

 What gives you joy, peace and freedom? What gives you meaning in your life? What could your soul’s purpose and path be? What do you want to leave behind for the generations to come?

November and Samhain is a perfect time to think about where you’re coming from, of your past and people who accompanied you on your way, about life lived and how it can affect your present and future.

Nature gives us a perfect example on how we can try to access such a difficult topic:

The trees are losing their leaves in a colorful way, the wind and storms shaking things up but also leaving a clear and crispy air afterwards. It’s the theme of letting go, of leaving things behind that the wind and waves will clear away. Or it falls to the ground, transforms and you can use it as a fertilizer for new projects and processes.

The trees always remind me that transformation and letting go don’t have to be hard and full of suffering. Nature shows you, when you trust the process, when you are optimistic and full of hope that there will be a new spring to come, that there is nothing to worry about, even in darker and difficult times.

When you look very closely, you can see that the branches losing the leaves have already tiny buds. These buds already have everything that is needed to blossom next spring.

They only have to go through a season of retreat, restoring and rest so that a new cycle can begin.

So the death or letting go is not the end but necessary to let a new cycle begin, to initiate a rebirth. At this time of the year we can look closely at nature and can ask ourselves what we need to let go, what has to die, so that we can rebirth to a new life or cycle.

What has caused you struggle and pain in the past, what doesn’t fit to your heart and dreams anymore, what have you outgrown and want to change?

Maybe it’s time to think about this and let it go with the leaves, the wind and the tides.

Can we learn something in this regard when we look at the lives of our ancestors, of people who dared to live a life in alignment with their heart, who didn’t choose the way everyone told them is right to go but dared to believe in their dreams?

What did they let go, trusting that this will lead to the best outcome, to a life of joy and freedom? What have they done that they have lived a life without regrets?

Ask yourself what your ancestors would say to you when you could ask them what they would have changed if they had lived at your time, when they would have had the chance to live again?

What would their advice be to you?

I asked myself these questions today and a lot of emotions came up. It was as if they would tell me that you don’t have to be so hard on yourself, that working so hard is not the only way to live a fulfilled life, that this isn’t what made them happy in the end.

Maybe they would have loved to have more time for joy, for the little moments in life that make you feel present, peaceful and one with nature.

It is as if they are telling me that life runs so fast and that I spent too much time worrying about things that will never happen, that it is better to learn to accept these things and circumstances I can’t change, that it’s better to trust your heart and inner compass and to follow your own guidance, that it’s better to find joy and peace within and not in the outside world.

Letting go is a huge process of trust, it’s knowing deep down that leaving something behind isn’t the end but that you expect better things to come, that you know that you are whole and free without the attachment to the old and known, that you trust yourself and know that you can create a better life with the skills, talents and experience you have.

Maybe letting go is acknowledging the death but also trusting the transformation, it is losing your leaves and trusting that the new buds are already there, it is like the transformation of the caterpillar to the butterfly, of losing yourself in the ocean and arriving on a new shore.

November is a time of taking time for this process of letting go, retreat, rest and grounding yourself, of recharging your energies, of finding deep connection to nature, to yourself, to your life, present, past and future and to what is really important to you.

It’s the connection to the person you want to become and how you can transform into this joy, peace and freedom that you can find only within.

Our ancestors give us an example of the cycles of life and that time is finite. They want to make sure that we use our time that is given to us wisely, that we don’t forget to live, love and feel free and joyful.

Maybe we really have to celebrate death and let go from time to time to remind ourselves what a beautiful gift life is and how lucky we are that we are born and can experience this amazing time on earth.

This article was the start of the one year program in the livelifelikeanocean community:

‘A journey with the tides’

If you like to be part of this community and get support in going through the seasons and cycles of life with the inspiration of nature and the ocean, you can join here:

https://livelifelikeanocean.mn.co

I’m looking forward seeing you in the community

For more information visit my other website: https://www.livelifelikeanocean.com/Community/