A Patch of Winter Sun in A (r)Evolution of Being
by Rufaro Gwarada, Root. Rise. Pollinate!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This article is part of our initiative: Reports from a (r)Evolution of Being. This series is a place to tell stories of the future, the big transitions we need to make, and how these transitions are unfolding now. This piece is a reflection by our beloved co-director, Rufaro Gwarada.
Lately, I have been appreciating the experience of basking in a patch of sun when it’s cold out; the sweet sensation of winter sun. We call that patch of sun mushana in my mother tongue, chiShona. Mushana has been on my mind as Huichin (Oakland, California), settles into the cold season with grey skies, blustering wind, and our first rains. The dark, stormy weather mirrors the general state of our world.
In the weeks following the recent US election, I’ve found myself in tears often, and sometimes unexpectedly. The possible repercussions of the US election, here and across the world, are heartbreaking. This awareness layered onto what can feel like incessant, intensifying pain and suffering rippling through the world, year in and year out, can feel immobilizing. Yet — especially being a parent — I am clear that we must find and reach for mushana in the big and small ways it is available to us each moment, each day.
The Wednesday morning after the election, I rose with the sun, wanting to take in the sunrise light and air. As I walked, I remembered a morning greeting I had created six years ago — now slightly edited — inspired by one of my spiritual teachers.
Greeting this new day with gratitude for the night’s rest and renewal
Greeting this new day with hope in that which is yet to unfold
Greeting this new day with love rooted in that which grounds us
Greeting this new day, with joy knowing that as it was once tomorrow, so too shall it be yesterday.
This greeting came to me after I’d shared with my teacher feelings of deep loss at not knowing my indigenous spiritual traditions and practices as a descendant of a colonized people. She invited me to create something akin to a song or chant with the intention that over time, with repetition, it could feel like it came from my ancestors and was a gift that could be passed down to descendants.
This morning greeting is a daily dose of mushana for me, much-needed light and warmth in a time when the biting chill of despair could become a constant companion. This greeting, newly rediscovered, is now one of my daily practices, in my journey of a (r)Evolution of Being. I greet the day out loud and repeat each line. Sometimes the words catch in my throat, when doubt creeps in and interrupts the flow. In spite of this I continue and repeat each line slowly and deliberately until I mean and believe each word. As I do, my heart lifts with gratitude, hope, love, and joy, and knowing that now is all we have and that it too shall pass. This is how we keep moving, even in cold times. This is how we remember who we are called to be now, showing up for and with known and unknown kin near and far.
May you find your mushana in these times, and may we, together, practice creating, basking in, and being mushana in the present and for the sake of future generations.
