Beltane Letter from Cressida Pryor
April 29, 2026

Dear FOI Friends,

Beltane is here again…and a chance to step back and reflect on what’s going on at the moment and how, despite so much conflict and confusion in the world, we can still contribute, in our way, to the greater good…

It is hard to ignore the now of nature’s abundant ‘greening’; this term beloved by Hildegard of Bingen, represents the divine life force present all around us, in living plants, creatures and the soul…Beltane is nature’s ‘YES!’…a rising of energy in so many ways…and in E E Cummings poem ‘I thank You God…’ gratitude seems to flow easily now ‘for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes…’

And from another song:

'I will answer yes to life…though with pain I made my way, still with hope I meet each day.'

From one poem, to the song above there seems to be so much that comes together…noticing it in our lives…those strange synchronistic moments that show the underlying matrix of interconnection, of universal principals, quantum layers of great complexity and yet so simple.

I was recently creating a gathered event to happen in a few days, and decided to conclude with the song ‘I can see clearly now’…a reference to the Taoist principal that we err from ‘the way’ or the right flow of life when our self absorption stops us seeing clearly, as if we’re looking through an opaque window, clouded by our own mudded perceptions and biases…

The song seemed to fit in exactly; ending the event with positive words and a well known melody. I stopped typing to rest for a moment and noticed a new email had just arrived in my inbox. I couldn’t believe my eyes…a ukulele tutor I subscribe to had just posted her recent class notes…and yes, the song she was teaching was…’I can see clearly now’…

It was like I was getting a nod of affirmation, a yes that gave me the energy to stay with the Taoist theme and emphasis; not just for the event but to use it now as a focus for myself in the months ahead…

Cummings concludes his poem with these now famous bracketed lines:

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

So however our actual senses are functioning we can still be open and awake to our inner awareness, the ears of our ears…and tune into the ‘yes’ of what’s around us and also deep within…and in so doing we step closer to the way of peace and right action.

Divine Mother, with gratitude may we open our hearts to the needs of others, especially those we find difficult and perhaps different to how we are. May we recognise our biases and stumbling blocks so we can remain awake to the ‘yes’ in all beings. For you are eternally present, both formless and perfectly formed, the Mother of the universe. So may it be. Amen.

To all members, may you have a blessed and bountiful Beltane.