11/20/2022
Anthroposophically speaking, Why are we all getting sick?
--written by Miss Devon Buckley Nov 2022
When we apply our acute observation to the dynamics of change this time of year and we notice how they affect our routines, environment, needs, moods and physical bodies, we can see, especially through the lens of childhood, how rest and a focus on cleanliness in our interior environment, nutrition and and an acceptance of an adjustment period will be seen as necessary actions in this month of November. Here, in the Finger Lakes / Northeast US / Great Lakes area of the world, we experience a sudden change in temperature--from 70 degree days to 20 degree days and nights. Our furnaces and boilers and wood stoves are stoked and pumping dusty particles from our homes into the air. Our bodies are not only adjusting to the change in temperature outside our walls, but also to the change in air quality and time spent indoors. Imagine a child, still developing the resilience for the changes we experience in our environment and in our homes, energetically, and especially relating to the increased use of artificial light and heat, and the increasing darkness outside. Daylight Savings Time may not be of assistance, making this change even more dramatic! Imagine how much energy it takes for a child to assimilate to these changes: the darkness, the cold, the heat, the lessening daylight, the need for more warmth in food and clothing, the dust in the air from being indoors more often and running heaters. Imagine the absorption of energy a child assimilates from our family: we see how the Seasons can even change the moods and behaviors of some people we know. All of this adjustment sets us out of balance, aiding in the development of dis-ease. And when a child is not at ease, they generally become ill, or upset or both. And upset is a symptom of stress which is also a precursor to--we know--illness. I am sure if we add the stress of holiday plans with family that flow through Mom and Dad and stir excitement and maybe anxiety in us...we will see reasons for even more adjustment to change. It's not Summer anymore. It's getting dark and cold and snow is coming...and so is Gramma! These ideas are rapidly approaching us(and our children) all while the Earth sees the leaves turn brown under our feet, the North Wind blowing snow against our closed cold windows and the Sun setting at 5pm. So, let us breathe into all of this, so our children can flow through the changes of the Autumn-becomes-Winter pre-Holiday Season with ease, rather than dis-ease.
With every illness, there is a lesson. I am learning how to notice these myriad sprinkles of Fairy dust changes that ask us to notice them, admire them, welcome them and handle them with care--all while caring deeply for our own health, the health of our children and the health of a thriving community. So, please take this time to settle into peace and calm as we navigate our wellness in this era of Covid, in this beginning of Ithaca Winter. Make nutrient dense meals. Feed the children fruits and vegetables. Offer them warming spices, and tea. Snuggle. Read. Clean the vents. Sweep the floors. Keep the hearth shiny and bright. Keeping the literal hearth clean is a symbolic expression of maintaining wellness in the home and in the heart.
