Today, 8 B’atz invites us to recognize the cosmic joke woven through all of existence, dance with the threads of time as a colorful creator and jester, and see that laughter and play are sacred acts that hold the universe together.
Essential Questions
- How can I best celebrate my years of life and my story?
- How can I approach my creative work with more playfulness and less seriousness?
- What becomes possible when I laugh at myself and the absurdity of being alive?
Eight has been my favorite number since I was a kid. Eight is great! Eight is infinite, balanced, and whole. Eight is elegant, spiritual, and natural. In the Mayan calendar, 8 is the most auspicious day for fire ceremony. It is 1 (birth) + 7 (death) = everything. Totality.
Today, Waxajib B’atz, is the most anticipated and celebrated day of the 260 day count, at least here in the Western highlands of Guatemala.
B’atz being the energy of time. According to the Maya, we human beings are children of time, children of the day. Sparks of the sun, moon, and stars. B’atz being the calendar itself, the spiraling, upward movement of the parade of sacred days in this Great Mystery we call life. B’atz being the weaver and the tapestry of life, the creative genius, the performer, entertainer, painter, singer, dancer, actor, writer. B’atz being the eternal now, the wheezing laughter that keeps us youthful and present.
And it’s just another ordinary day. I take another conscious breath. I sit up a little taller. I look around and see my crossed legs in pale pink leggings, a sea of trees, a blessed lake, the slope of a volcano. My cat bathing herself. The tea is steeping. The birds are singing. The serene breeze rustles the leaves. The hammock beckons me to lie down and sway.
Thank you, Great Spirit, for my life and my existence. Thank you for this day. Thank you for this moment. Maltiox Nawal B’atz.
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