The Burden is the Weigh

Light as a feather

According to etymonline
burden (n.1) "a load, that which is borne or carried," Old English byrðen "a load, weight, charge, duty;"

Weigh: weigh (v.) “Old English wegan (class V strong verb, past tense wæg, past participle wægon) "find the weight of, measure; have weight; lift, carry, support, sustain, bear; move”

The Burden is the Weighing (Way-in) and the way-in lifts, carries and helps support you on the journey…wait(ing) is an offer to go inside the inner sanctuary, the room, the temple.

The Burden is also like a Bird waiting for you to grow wings to carry it away.

Words hold energetic frequencies, etymologies, and meanings beyond what we realize sometimes. We automatically say things on autopilot, without thinking, without recognizing the weight some words hold.

At the same time, I believe words are also clues and can give simple insights that help us grasp situations better or understand something gnawing at the back of our mind.

By simply allowing those insights to arise into conscious awareness, we can reframe things and lessen the lesson, the negative effects by the weight of the word…and even shift it into something positive.

Everything doesn’t require philosophical ponderings, endless searching, or looping contemplation, sometimes we must just sit in stillness long enough to see what is already there for us to know.

By listening to what burdens us and honestly assessing if it is burying us or guiding us, we can shift the choices we are avoiding into something we are aware that we are choosing.

Burdens (Bird-ins) are an invitation to become like a bird and take flight.

Ma’at, who supposedly meets us at the weighing of souls upon our departure from this earthly plane, determines if our heart is as light as a feather…the feat-to-her is written in the word hearth, earth, heart. In ancient Egyptian cosmology, she wears the feather of truth as a symbol of cosmic order and balance.

Our feat is in our feet, for the more we are rooted, centered, grounded in the natural, in God’s law, the faster our wings grow, the lighter we walk upon the earth, the more we stay connected to Spirit and to love.

It’s all simple in theory, yet difficult in a world whirling in chaos, despair and suffering. It takes courage to learn to lighten the load, not by removing it, but by strengthening ourselves.

Thus, it makes sense symbolically why Ma’at represents two wings on the same bird and how this manifests by the collective in “real” life where there always only seems to be two choices…for this is the trap, the illusion, the inversion, the Ma-trix/tricks…but the true Divine Mother never plays games, she holds us in the womb of stillness as we are here to be the bridge between Heaven:Head:He-even and Earth:Hearth:Ears:Art……even the opposites live inside each word, merged into clues for finding inner harmony and it is up to us to connect the dots, to meet the middle, to walk the narrow line, upright…straight…the electric and magnetic consecrate…liberate…a date for which you do not want to be late. ;-)

According to what I’ve read on the topic of Ma’at, if one’s soul, inside the heart, is not lighter than a feather then it is devoured and ceases to exist. I don’t think we need to wait to the afterlife to recognize the deeper meaning behind this in the present moment. When we don’t live like we know we should that burden gets heavier and heavier, but when we try to do what is right, face uncomfortable truths, step into our fears, and express ourselves honestly, the burden “seems” to cease to exist and we feel lighter.

Whatever problems you are facing today, remember, they hold the key to your liberation, they are the necessary roadblock to help you forge your own path, they mean you are trying to better yourself instead of sitting in comfort and going nowhere.

Maybe the burden is the weigh…. The Bird-in is the way.

I began to realize I was asking God the wrong questions…to remove the burdens I thought I couldn’t bear. When I realized this, I changed the questions to:

- What is this burden showing me, teaching me?

- How can I grow stronger as to make the burden feel lighter?

- Can I carry the burdens given to me with grace?

- Can I change what feels like the weight of the world by accepting it instead of resisting it or wishing it away?

For we all have a cross to bear, something to overcome, yet we must not discount the purpose the “burden” brings, the message it is showing us, nor the beauty hidden in the “sound” of the word itself.

The 42 ideals of Ma’at offer a framework for living consciously, morally, with integrity, and in right action to reduce the burdens of this world and the consequences of living out of balance. Whether you agree with them or not, here they are for contemplating in their positive context.

1. I honor virtue

2. I benefit with gratitude

3. I am peaceful

4. I respect the property of others

5. I affirm that all life is sacred

6. I give offerings that are genuine

7. I live in truth

8. I regard all altars with respect

9. I speak with sincerity

10. I consume only my fair share

11. I offer words of good intent

12. I relate in peace

13. I honor animals with reverence

14. I can be trusted

15. I care for the earth

16. I keep my own council

17. I speak positively of others

18. I remain in balance with my emotions

19. I am trustful in my relationships

20. I hold purity in high esteem

21. I spread joy

22. I do the best I can

23. I communicate with compassion

24. I listen to opposing opinions

25. I create harmony

26. I invoke laughter

27. I am open to love in various forms

28. I am forgiving

29. I am kind

30. I act respectfully

31. I am accepting

32. I follow my inner guidance

33. I converse with awareness

34. I do good

35. I give blessings

36. I keep the waters pure

37. I speak with good intent

38. I praise the Goddess and the God

39. I am humble

40. I achieve with integrity

41. I advance through my own abilities

42. I embrace the All

The number 42 is no accident as this number holds vast meaning and interpretation to the purpose of existence…a symbol of balance….chance and destiny…a path to pair-a-dice…beautifully irrational.

With love and lightness…. may your scales be in harmony and your burdens take flight,

~Angela