“The Holly and the Ivy” is a traditional English Christmas carol, but the symbolism of those two plants goes back even further, as they are Pagan fertility symbols. In the midst of the winter we celebrate with evergreens, finding promise of continuing life in those plants that remain green when so many others are dormant.
What in your life feels dormant, gone into hiding? What feels like it will always be green?
“Cast a cold eye on life, on death. Horseman, pass by,” read the words on the tombstone of Irish poet William Butler Yeats. Most of us would cast a cold eye on death, but on life? Does a passionate love of life make it harder to let go at life’s end, or does it make it easier, knowing that you have fully embraced what was given to you, for however long it was given?
How do you live so that you can meet your eventual end with grace?
