Yesterday I participated in an Aries new moon women’s circle with a theme of ‘re-wilding’. I had images of face painting, naked forest running and howling at the moon. Instead it was a deep exploration into the areas we felt cut off from our instinctual self. A theme that continued to be explored as we shared the collective exhaustion we have from a lifetime of giving. As women, we have been taught to give without thought of asking to receive. Even if we consciously ‘know’ better we seem to continue to put ourselves last. We discussed all the ways we do this such as forgetting to take or make time for treatments, not taking time to prep food for the week and then struggling due to lack of nutrition, realizing that despite being in work that we love (we were all therapists) we struggle with the dynamic of being largely alone and giving of ourselves while not receiving. We all shared our struggles to find contentment and inspiration when feeling so exhausted.
Yet as we meditated, journaled, danced and shared tea together we realized how elated we felt. The simple act of making time to come together in a meaningful way filled us up in a way that nothing else had. We were reminded of the importance of connection and consciously creating community. And we realized how starved we were of it.
By the end of our time together there was a palpable renewed sense of purpose. We made a new moon commitment to how we were going to take care of ourselves and recognize when we were ignoring our wild Self. For me however, the most important decision we made was to commit to meeting again at the next new moon. Perhaps what looks like ‘burn out’ is more a sign of our struggle in a system that does not sustain us as women….and maybe it’s time we create one that does.
~ Tanya Morris