It's June once again, so time for my mid-year reflections post! It's a bit later than some years because I've been a bit busy with other blog posts recently! I've been writing these reflections for the past few years (the first one was in May, not June though). You can read the previous posts at the links below:
Reflections (2017): https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2017/05/reflections.html
Mid-2021 Reflections: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/06/mid-2021-reflections.html
I also write an end of year post. Here's 2021's: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2021/12/letting-go-of-2021.html
As with 2021, the first half of the year seems to have gone quickly. In February our Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a plan for "living with Covid" and in March all restrictions were basically dropped in England. The rest of the UK has relaxed rules too.
It felt weird to have things going "back to normal" after two years of pandemic lockdown and restrictions. I think we're all a bit shellshocked! The Cambridge dictionary definition of that term ("extremely tired and nervous or frightened, especially after an unpleasant and unexpected event") seems to fit this situation well. I think it's a good idea to still be cautious though and keep up things like masks in indoor public places and hand sanitising.
In February I went to my belly dance group's hafla (dance party). I had last been in September, so it was nice to see my dance friends again. Then in March I did a belly dance workshop in Brighton with Nadia Undine.
In May I did a Self-Hatred to Self-Compassion workshop (at my local mental health resource centre) that had previously been cancelled in March. It was about being kinder to yourself and I found it useful.
I also just went to another hafla this weekend, so that was good.
This month it's my 4th anniversary of joining Meetup. I remember I wrote about joining it in my Letting Go of 2018 post! I had got into a routine of going to Meetup events, but of course with the pandemic everything shut down. Quite a few of the groups I was in have now gone, but a few are still going. I plan to get back into going to events slowly and have a look for some new ones.
Blogging wise I have been active here on Falling Petals, I wrote a post called When You've Been Down for Too Long (about feeling you've been stuck in a down, negative place for a long time) and another one about the Law of Assumption (a spiritual method for manifesting, similar to the Law of Attraction. You can see them both below:
When You've Been Down for Too Long: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/02/when-youve-been-down-for-too-long.html
Law of Assumption- An Alternative Way of Manifesting: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/law-of-assumption-alternative-way-of.html
Apart from that I've just been writing my monthly gratitude lists. I have two other blogs and post regularly on my entertainment one Star Sparkle Blog. I write sabbat/seasonal festival living posts on my other blog The Seasonal Life. I'm also writing quarterly updates there, like I did last year. You can see my winter-spring one here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/winter-spring-update-2022.html
As for world events, Russia invaded Ukraine in February, sparking a massive escalation of the Russo-Ukraine war. It was shocking to think that it could happen and that there may be another widescale war in Europe. And there were two shootings in America last month, one in in Buffalo, New York (which was racially motivated) and a mass shooting at a school in Ulvade, Texas. Truly horrible. :( The world feels really unstable right now. I don't really know what to say, but I am thinking of all the people affected by these events.
When I hear about these shootings it makes me grateful to live in a country where it's much harder to get access to guns. I don't mean this in a horrible way at all, it just makes me appreciate that events like that are rarer here, although not non-existent. In 1996 there was a mass shooting at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland, which was the worst event like that in the UK to date. That sparked debate on gun restrictions and new Firearm Acts were passed. I remember that schools tightened their security. When Dunblane happened, I was at middle school and you could easily get access to my school through the playground and car park.
The most recent shooting here took place in Plymouth in Devon (England) last summer and several people died. The killer was a licensed gun holder, so I know that it's not necessarily as simple as just restricting access to guns.
Also, the UK government announced their (in my opinion truly bizarre) decision to send migrants to Rwanda. I had the impression that things in Rwanda were still unstable, although from what I've read, things have improved. I think that people from other countries would find it easier to settle here since it's multicultural and I expect they would be more likely to know some English (English is spoken there though). On the other hand, we're a small country and can only take so many people. The first refugee flight to Rwanda was grounded recently, so I'm not sure what's going on currently. I don't know what the solution is but I think we should remember that we're all human beings. :)
We've just had the Platinum Jubilee where the Queen celebrated 70 years on the throne (the first British monarch to do that). That is quite a feat! People celebrated throughout the UK. I didn't do anything special (I like the Royal Family but didn't feel like attending any parties or anything). I watched some of the parade on TV though. I think that the long weekend was a bit much for Prince Willian and Kate Middleton's youngest son Louis, who is only 4. He behaved like you'd expect any young child to!
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to the UK for the Jubilee. It was good to see them back, despite the negativity by some of the press and people commenting online. They also released a new photo of their daughter Lilibet, who just turned one. It was lovely to see a new pic of her. :)
There have been some stupid comments online, including about whether or not she's really their daughter (probably Meghan's in particular). As many mixed race people know, others questioning your relationship with one or both or your parents due to appearance (especially skin colour) is nothing new. :( I know people can naturally wonder things like that but you can still be respectful. I hope that over time society becomes more open minded and understanding about the differences in mixed families.
This past week the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, a ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion. It is shocking in this day and age (a supposed open minded, "woke" time) that they want to take away women's rights to our bodies. I know abortion is a difficult issue but there are all sorts of reasons why someone may choose to/need to have one. It feels like the world has taken a giant step backwards. :(
In lighter news, Britney Spears just got married to her boyfriend Sam Asghari. Congratulations Britney and Sam! it's nice to see her happy, after all the stress of being under the conservatorship for 13 years and losing a baby recently. :) (I know I have just spoken about abortion but people's situations/circumstances vary.)
So that's it for the update. Thank you if you read all the way to the end, it turned into a long one! :) We've just had the longest day of the year in Northern Hemisphere (Litha/the Summer Solstice) and we're now coming to the end of June. I hope that during the second half of the year things improve.
Wishing everyone a smooth transition into the second half of 2022! :)
Photo: Mill Hill, Shoreham-by-sea. Taken on the Summer Solstice. Moonsparkle 2022.
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