Mayday, May Day!

It’s no secret to those who know me that I adore words and phrases! Because the English language is a hodgepodge of other languages and varies from having no rules to crazy rules, it provides such a rich opportunity to explore the various twists and turns of this type of symbology. I was indoctrinated early, being weaned on word games. I went from competing for 4-H in Public Speaking and representing my high school in spelling and extemporaneous speaking, to teaching Public Speaking at a university for seven years. It’s no wonder that my current book, Diary of a Witch's Daughter, features a teenage girl who is a Scrabble-loving writer who frequently makes up words. Yep, she takes after me in many ways. Even my most recently completed book, Gabby Gray, Word Nerd, has a younger heroine, just as word crazy, to the point where she gets obsessed with various grammar points; in this particular book she often speaks in synonyms. Little known fact: I make up puzzles for special events, and along with my sister, Rosalyn, create anagrams with names and words—you see it runs in the family!

I see and hear letters and words, and then patterns form—it’s kind of an intuitive gift (shhh, don’t tell my Words with Friends opponents). So when I noted the timing of my 1st Sunday radio show, I immediately saw another opportunity for some word play, with May Day and mayday. I am grateful for my guest, Ty Johnson-Anderson, who will provide May Day Messages for your mayday situations.

Anyone who has watched TV or movies over the past few decades is sure to have heard the term, “mayday.” It is a distress call sent out over the airwaves by ships and aircraft to indicate there is some type of danger and help is requested. I would say we all have our personal mayday situations. For some, it is the ever shrinking bank balance. Others may experience loss of a loved one to death or divorce. Still others may feel the pain of a child leaving the nest. And then there are some who experience chronic pain. Whatever mayday is signaling, discomfort, pain, fear, and stress are sure to follow. Maybe…

Another term, May Day, refers to the ancient celebration from the Northern Hemisphere that is held on May 1^st to celebrate spring. I have childhood memories of dressing in spring colors, dancing around a May pole with a group of my peers, and wrapping said pole with ribbons. I chuckle now with the knowledge that this holiday has European origins that pre-date Christianity, and I learned about it in the African-American Baptist churches. You gotta love the irony of their heralding of spring in true pagan tradition. As someone who respects and honors the Divine in its many forms, including as it shows up in nature, I have a greater appreciation for May Day today.

So, what if we juxtapose the meanings of mayday/Mayday a bit. What if instead of stressing out during mayday situations, we choose to invoke the spirit of May Day, instead. When many of us bring spring to mind, we immediately think of renewal, growth, and coming into bloom. So what if our mayday situation is an opportunity for us to renew, grow, and bloom?

We all know it’s not the circumstances in our lives that bring us stress. It’s how we respond to the circumstances that matters. So, what if we bring a bit of May Day spring celebration energy to those situations that appear dry and barren, frozen and wintry? What if we made a choice to see the Divine in the doo doo, the lush in the loss, the miracle in the mess, the creation in the chaos? Take a breath…

I’m not suggesting that we play Pollyanna or take a head dip in the sand a’ la our friend, the ostrich. I propose that we look beyond the outer circumstances to the meaning in what is being outpictured in our world. Looking through the God lens brings us true vision, far more powerful than the sight of our human eyes. With this vision, we are able to uncover the lesson of our circumstances, what many call the blessing in disguise. We see the spring vs. the winter, the May Day vs. the mayday. Then true healing can take place, on a mind, body, and spirit level.

Happy May Day, every day!

To find out about my holistic offerings, visit my website at www.mindbodyandspiritworks.com. To check out my Self-Care Saturday Series and other holistic events, go to http://www.meetup.com/Laurel-Mind-Body-Soul-Food-Meetup/.  To listen to my podcast, Mind, Body & Soul Food, visit www.blogtalkradio.com/tonyaparker. Purchase a Kindle or audio version of Diary of a Witch’s Daughter, my young adult novel with holistic and metaphysical themes at http://tinyurl.com/diaryofawitchsdaughteronamazon.