ten thousand miles

nic and i spend new years eve 2012 in the healing pools at the blue lagoon, iceland,

then wake up before dawn in 2013 to board a bus that takes us to the southernmost point of the island.

we spend new years eve 2013 in the far north of new zealand – more than ten thousand miles away from where we were last year.

we visit sacred places during the day…

climbing the giant sand dunes and walking back up the stream at te paki

we stop at haumu – a significant point on Te Ara Wairua (the pathway of the spirits). the spirits of the dead that have travelled along the east coast cross the peninsula to merge here with those that have travelled along the west coast. from here they continue along the shore to their departing place Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Rēinga). as they pass they drop bundles of grass or knotted plants on the sand to show where they have gone.

we have a picnic lunch and a swim at tapotupotu bay.

then go for a walk along the beach at spirits bay.

the sky is ablaze at sunset – nature’s coda the perfect finale

we jump naked into the ocean as the clock strikes midnight.
fireworks are lighting up the sky. in the distance, a lone bagpiper plays.

and in between we lived a magical year of stories.

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i lay the months out in a 13 card spread…
january: the fool, new beginnings.
the underlying theme for the year signified by the eight of cups.
the message so closely in alignment with my own thoughts…
nothing good remains for me in the places my thoughts have been dwelling.
it’s time to move on.

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A Blessing for the New Year
by John O’Donohue
from ‘To Bless the Space Between Us”

On the day when
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.

And when your eyes
Freeze behind
The gray window
And the ghost of loss gets into you,
May a flock of colors,
Indigo, red, green
and azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And, so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.

(grateful thanks to pixie campbell for introducing me to this)

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happy new year, friends. may 2014 be all you wished for, and more.