May 1st is an auspicious day in anyone’s book. It’s pagan name is Beltane and it’s the ancient Gaelic ceremony to celebrate the coming of summer. May Day is midway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice when the Earth’s energies are at their strongest. In Gaelic mythology, it symbolises the hand-fasting of Flora, Queen of the May with Jack O’ The Green bringing the earth fecundity and abundance. Beltane is a festival of fire to cleanse the old and herald the new: historically the beginning of summer – although astrologers and meteorologists will disagree on that! It is also, of course, International Workers’ Day!
But today I want to write about the little workers of the world: the insects and animals that make up the 99.99% of life on Earth. Yup – humans account for only 0.01%!
As if to prove the fecundity of Mother Nature, I saw my first gaggle of goslings yesterday morning. They were Greylag geese and there were five of them waddling along, scratching for food between their very proud and very protective parents. I find something wonderfully endearing about babies of whatever species, so I was saddened this morning to see that the five goslings were already down to four. I know it’s part of the cycle of life and I have no doubt that the little creature was a tasty appetiser for a hungry fox but I still felt sad and wondered how many of their little brood would be left by the summer? And, if not eaten by foxes, how many will succumb to death by plastic or choke on an aluminium ring pull? I see the birds pecking away at such discarded human objects almost daily.
Of course, as humans, we’re at the top of the food chain so, unless we live amidst a pride of big cats, we’re unlikely to be eaten by predators but we seem ambivalent to the plight of the millions of creatures that make up our own personal ecosystem. And when I say `we’ I mean the supermarkets, the politicians, fast food companies who are being perilously slow in changing their policies on plastic packaging and polystyrene burger boxes.
But it’s not good enough to blame the big companies: we must each take responsibility for ourselves and our own part in the environment. What a delight to see the Extinction Rebellion activist clearing up after their protest so that they left the area cleaner than when they arrived. And, if they can do it, so can each and every one of us do our bit: recycle as much as possible; buy only what is sustainable and think of the bigger picture. Earth will survive for millions of years without humans, but mere decades without insects and animals.
So, whether you celebrate May Day, International Workers’ Day or the hand-fasting of Jack and Flora, let’s focus on every tiny piece of the bigger picture and our part in it.
Reiki in Wanstead 