Letter from Cressida Pryor
March 18, 2025
Dear Friends,
Welcome to this Spring Equinox FOI Letter.
Does this truly feel like a time of balance? Yes, we’re at the theoretical time of equal day and night…the equinox on March 21st…a time in certain cultures when the New Year really starts…ours is fixed to the Winter Solstice, more or less…in Persia, as was, this is their New Year…
And this does make sense…there is so much fresh growth around, lambs frolicking, daffodils bobbing their heads in the breeze…and more light in the evening to pick up projects rather than slump in front of a screen…
But balance? Does this feel like a time of equanimity…time to think and discern rather than react with a growl or worse, a punch…?
I’d like to pose the question:
What does balance mean to you?
Are there times when you have felt more balanced or less balanced?
What helps or hinders this? Is it about time? More time means less hasty ill judged decisions…but then spontaneity is lost?
Our world seems to be really reactive at the moment…and scarily so.
How do we invite and allow more balance into our lives?
I am writing this during Race Week at Cheltenham…we live on the road that leads over Cleeve Hill and down to this huge international gathering of people and animals at the race track...they arrive by coach, endless range rovers and a few by helicopter. It has the feel of a secular pilgrimage, many locals in this small town open their doors to paying guests; the local butchers supply endless sausages and bacon for the many fried breakfasts that fuel the race goers before pints of Guinness complete their energy intake.
Yesterday I stood and watched the line of vehicles, and their passengers on their way there…the focus and excitement seemed visible on their faces. For many this seems to be a yearly ritual which probably gives them meaning and enjoyment…and maybe balances out other less important things in their lives…
I know I find balance through drawing people…I have to stop and focus, tune into the person I’m drawing, the situation, and the other people I’m maybe drawing with…so like the race goers it’s often not a solitary occupation…
Others may well find balance outside, being in nature…
I recently met some bird watchers who had driven for an hour and a half to the nearby escarpment to watch and film short eared owls. These elusive creatures, who often hunt during the day, are with us from northern climes over winter and will return in summer months back home…I was shown beautiful footage of a swooping bird who came within feet of the camera. The generosity of sharing from these enthusiasts was both humbling and exciting. I watched as they packed their kit back into the boot of their car prior to their long drive home. Both agreed it had been a ‘good day’, their hopes fulfilled and the fresh hill top air revealing their quarry…a pair of visiting migrant owls both parties tuning into their deep knowledge of ‘where to be’…
Perhaps this is one aspect of balance…being able to tune into the deep knowing of our eternal self…away from the noise and distractions of every day demands…so we can respond to the call to be where we need to be…
Eternal Mother, guide our hands and feet as we navigate the path to greater balance in our lives.
Balance so we can discern the way most true to our needs and the needs of the wider world;
May we fly with the wind and soar with the song of our heart.
So may it be; Amen.
With Blessings of balance and peace,
Cressida, FOI Steward
