welcome etc
Today is the vernal equinox, the spring equinox. The equinox happens when the day and the night are at equal length, and our planet, once again, is moving toward the sun. The journey of the universe.
Now the light and the warmth return – new light and life, new beginnings, seeds, and news paths to walk on.
Is there anything more exciting than the first promise of spring?
Butterflies emerge. Birds remember their songs.
Remember to plant your own seeds,
what personal values you want to instil or strengthen. What desires are you following? Intention setting isn’t just for New Years.
New Beginnings
. That’s what spring is all about. The triumph of light, planting new seeds. Planning new adventures, stepping out in faith for dreams that make us yearn for the unknown, the new, the unchartered in our life
Is there anything more exciting than the first promise of spring?
and a special time a new beginning for one of us
welcome T
New beginning for T He’s earned it!
When a boy becomes 13
In the Brazilian Amazon, boys of the Sateré-Mawé tribe mark their coming of age when they turn 13 in a Bull Ant Initiation. The tradition goes as so: they search the jungle for bullet ants which are sedated by a leader who submerges them in an herbal solution. The ants are then weaved into gloves with the stingers pointed inwards. An hour or so later, the ants wake up angrier than ever, and the initiation begins. Each boy has to wear the gloves for ten minutes.
In North Baffin Island, Inuit boys have traditionally gone out to the snow to test their hunting skills in the harsh arctic weather..
In East Africa, the boys’ heads are shaved, and the tribal elders administer three deep cuts in their skulls from ear to ear. This leaves permanent scars
In Ethiopia, boys jump over a cow four times while naked, symbolising the childhood they are leaving behind them
The transformation from childhood to maturity, becoming a “son of the Law” – a “bar mitzvah.” Since we are not under the law of Moses, our family desires our boys to become “sons of grace”—”bar chanan”—with the similar expectation that each begins to put away childish things, prepare himself for the responsibilities of manhood.
Tien will celebrate his thirteenth birthday. We believe it is important to establish milestones in the life of a young man, and this year is a time traditionally recognized as the threshold of adult life. we set aside a time of celebration and reflection to mark this as a special day in their lives.
Is there anything more exciting than welcoming Tien on the path to manhood?
Reuben
Neil
and i would like to set Tien on the path to manhood by asking him to leave his babyhood behind him, keeping all the good things you’ve learned from babyhood, but leaving behind baby crossness baby tempers – and to bravely cross into your next phase. As brave as a butterfly! as your grandmother …
and to symbolise that you’re about to step from one life to another ….