“There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.” Carl Gustav Jung

January's Challenges

In January it's important to keep one's spirits up, which is why I've started this blog. The most spirit lifting thing I can think of at the moment is the rose. Hence this lovely image.

Next best thing is some other people's good ideas about this time of year.

Here are some I like.

"The name, given to the month of 'January', is derived from the ancient Roman name 'Janus' who presided over
the gate to the new year.  He was revered as the 'God of Gateways', 'of Doorways' and 'of the Journey.'  Janus
protected the 'Gate of Heaven', known as the 'Lord of Beginnings', is associated with the 'Goddess Juno-Janus',
and often symbolized by an image of a face that looks forwards and backwards at the same time. This symbolism
can easily be associated with the month known by many as the start of a new year which brings new opportunities. 
We cast out the old and welcome in the new.  It is the time when many reflect on events of the previous year
and often resolve to redress or improve some aspect of daily life or personal philosophy."
-   Mysitcal World Wide Web 

For the Lakota Sioux (Eastern U.S.) the month of January was the period of  "The Hardship Moon."

"Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart."
-   Charles G. Stater

"Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition." 
-   Mignon McLaughlin, 

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen, Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude. Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly: Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: Then, heigh-ho, the holly! This life is most jolly. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, That does not bite so nigh As benefits forgot: Though thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly: Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: Then, heigh-ho, the holly! This life is most jolly." - William Shakespeare, Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind

"Antisthenes says that in a certain faraway land the cold is so intense that words freeze as soon as they are uttered,
and after some time then thaw and become audible, so that words spoken in winter go unheard until the next summer."
-   Plutarch, Moralia

* (My personal favorite!)
(Except for maybe the following one!)


"January, month of empty pockets! … let us endure this evil month, anxious as a theatrical producer's forehead."
-   Colette
 

 

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