New Moon Ritual: November 2024

I was traveling with a group of warriors, healers, poets, and refugees. We were making our way towards some unspoken destination that, in our hearts, we all knew would provide the peace and safety we all craved. It was a deep yearning, the root of which wound down into the deepest parts of our souls, and our quest left us exhausted. Our bones ached with weariness. We would occasionally find what seemed to be a well-fortified spot to make camp, close to water and with good hunting. We were so tired that it was easy to say “maybe just one more day”, and we would find ways to convince ourselves that the camp we’d made for ourselves was good enough. It provided just enough, and we were doing fine, and we were so tired, weren’t we? Did we even need to continue on this journey?

And then we would hear them. Wolves in the distance. Their howls breaking through the false security of our camp, rousing within us the memories of what we were running from and, more importantly, what we were seeking in the first place.

In a panic we uprooted our camp, barely better off than when we stopped that first night, and continued marching on.

There is a difference between rest and complacency, and it’s something those of us involved in the long march of progress need to learn. Rest is necessary. We cannot expect ourselves or others to fight 24/7, it’s just not possible. We’ll quickly exhaust ourselves and end up doing more harm then good. It’s important to know when, how, and where to rest so we can catch our breath, tend to our wounded, and recollect ourselves for the next battle.

Too often, however, our weariness and exhaustion turns rest into complacency. We become so tired that we forget what we are fighting for and convince ourselves that the temporary structures we’ve built, the reprieves we’ve won, are enough.

Rest is important and necessary. Complacency is a dangerous distraction. And learning the difference between the two is a necessary survival skill.