Shedding an Old Skin
I have a picture overlooking my desk that I reflect on during this time of Covid-19. The picture is of Quetzalcoatl, the Nahuatl name for the feathered-serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerican culture. The picture depicts Quetzalcoatl in the form of an Ouroboros, a snake that eats it's own tail. In this form, Quetzalcoatl is seen as the deity of self-reflection. I was wintering in Mexico when I first heard the news of what was happening in Canada and the rest of the world. I could feel the fear and anxiety marching towards me but it would be weeks until it reached Mexico. I had time to reflect on what all this meant to me. It seemed that Quetzalcoatl was calling me to shed an old skin, a habit of falling into fear and anxiety instead of finding solutions and taking action. So I asked myself two questions: What action can I take at this time that will move me out of fear and anxiety and also be of help to others? How would that make me feel? I looked at my life and I saw that I w...