All good things must come to an end, or so the saying goes. This has been a summer of endings for me no doubt, but with the passing of Queen Elizabeth, a deep feeling of finality overtook me and left me adrift for a day or two. I know others felt it too.
Her death ended a cycle that represented a reign of 70 years. The vast majority of us have never know another monarch on the throne and while the new King Charles is no stranger to us, there is still a sense of unknown.
Once the Queen is put to rest on September 19 and we all say our final good-byes, a new cycle will begin. In the meantime, we are in a liminal space of time where one cycle has ended but the new cycle, or the reign of King Charles has not fully begun. It is in this time that the people of the Commonwealth will make a purposeful and emotional change.
Of course there is the obvious change of figure heads and a transfer of power but it is the shifts of attitudes we’ll make in our minds that might make the biggest impact for King Charles’ reign and it is in this lull between cycles where we transition our thoughts, beliefs, and opinions from one monarch to the other, that real history might be made. This time is called a change point.
Cycles come in all sizes, from worldwide events to a personal change of mind, but both can alter the course of history. This idea has been prevalent in my thoughts these last weeks as the dynamics of my family has shifted with the death of the last patriarch and matriarch of my family and leaves me and my siblings to take up those roles. A new cycle has begun for me, one that I’m actually ready to take on, and while I won’t have to take the reigns of a whole kingdom like King Charles will, I do sense the responsibilities my new role brings with it.
Every time you make a substantial decision in your life you bring a cycle to a close but it is in the space between the ending of that cycle and the beginning of a new one where real transformation can occur. That’s because it’s at that time, intentions are set, or not, for a new cycle.
Let’s say, you have left a job because you were unhappy with how you were treated, so you found another position that you feel will serve you better. Odds are that you will feel relief from leaving the old behind and a little excitement at starting a new position, but unless you take the time between leaving the old one and starting the other to review the lessons learned and what role you played in the old situation, and then intentionally decide to make a change based on these revelations, you will bring the old patterns into your new job. It is this liminal space, where you are neither here or there, that new patterns can be created for a new cycle. So if you give no thought to how you want to be, or how you want to be perceived in your new job, you may just end up playing the victim once again.
Patterns repeat, unless purposefully changed and it’s at the in between of one cycle and another where we have the greatest chance for change.
Liminal is an adjective that’s used to describe things that exist at the threshold (or border) between one thing and another – a void, and because nothing exists there, it is the perfect space to create something different.
I might add that we have an opportunity to set new intentions for change every day. There are two liminal times in each 24 hour period, two times where it is neither day or night. Once in the morning when the sun has not dawned the horizon but it’s light enough to no longer be night, and again in the evening when the sun has set but it’s still light enough to not be night. Many religions and spiritual practices use these two times to set intentions, offer sun salutations, or for devotional prayers for this very reason as they are change points in time and as such, ripe for creation.
We are beings of creation. We have the power to manifest within the universal laws and patterns but some points in time are more powerful than others. Through out history we can see how choices taken by individuals have changed the course of humanity for all, thereby sending us all into new cycles of peace or strife. Right now for the countries and the people who belong to the Commonwealth, we still have a little more time before a brand new cycle begins and a new King begins in earnest, his reign.
You may think that in this day and age, the crowning of a new King is no longer a significant event, as perhaps 70 years ago when the beloved Queen Elizabeth came to the throne – only time will prove that out. What I do know is that in this liminal space of time between the end of her reign and the beginning of his, we are all powerful agents for change. How will you choose?
While not entirely unexpected, especially after losing Philip, the passing of The Queen has been very emotional, not least because it comes on the back of an awful few years. Little things get me without realising, like the bent heads of the outriders and police officers on the passing of the corsage. It really is the end of an era and it sounds like you, too, have had some difficult changes in your life. I am very sorry for your losses, my friend x
Thank you Sue,
Yes it has been a summer of loss for me, a year and a half actually. I’ve lost 5 family members in that time. None from Covid though.
I take death in stride because I believe that the soul is eternal but with the queens passing it just seems so final.
My choice for this change point in history is to endeavour to keep on shining for those souls who need the light. Really that’s all any of us can do.
Take care, Diana