March 2023 Newsletter

***Te Fiti***
The cover image of this newsletter is a a snippet from a digital art video piece I recently created resulting from a dream I had.

Is March the start of the “real” new year for you? I've always felt more of a renewed sense of self, hope, intention and goal setting in the spring than I have in January, when it is more cold and dark and contemplative in the Northern Hemisphere, where I have always lived. But recently, I learned that the modern day Gregorian calendar that most of us follow now, isn't what we always followed and that in fact, the new year used to start on March 1. That calendar had 10 months, not 12, and its history is still reflected in some of the names of the months we know today: September to December, or the ninth through twelfth months of the Gregorian calendar, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months. Septem is Latin for “seven.” Octo, "eight"; Novem, "nine"; and Decem, "ten". Roman mythology says their second King, Numa, established the two new months called Ianarius and Februarius. Initially, these two additional months were first placed at the end of the year, but at some point became the first two months instead.

Note this is a condensed version of the March 2023 newsletter. For the full, interactive and original experience, visit it on FloDesk.

But I'm not here to advocate for the burning up or questioning of calendars. (Although it's fascinating to think about how we got here, isn't it?!) What I am calling attention to is to ask yourself what the seasons feel like in your body, in your experience, where you live and how that relates to your sense of self, your goals and your way of moving in the world. When we live, eat, move and act in the ways that our bodies and our environment support, we feel more at peace. Consuming in-season foods from our local farmers tastes the best, and do our bodies the most good.

What if we applied that radical approach to living to every aspect of our lives? Case-in-point: When my husband Richard and I travelled to Bermuda in February of 1996 to find my father's side of the family (and elope lol), everyone we met asked why on earth did we come to Bermuda in winter. What do you mean, winter, we asked? This is an island. It doesn't snow here, it might rain, but it's not going below 68 degrees, this is heaven compared to Canada right now. Y'all are crazy.

But guess what? Bermuda observes something called winter hours. This means that businesses and I think even schools, have shorter hours due to less daylight. They open later, and close earlier, so that employees can get to-and-from work in daylight. This also meant that many typical tourist attractions were not open at all, or if they are, have limited hours. This tiny, chain of 24 square mile long islands, (an archipelago really), is less than a mile wide and is 350 miles off the coast of South Carolina in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. This island, this beautiful island winters down, smiles politely and says softly:

See You All in the Spring.