it’s a time to hibernate and sleep and breathe and recoup, but sometimes, you don’t really get that option, so you dig your heels in and put your energy toward everything else that needs attention and forget about the rest.
and you know what?
that’s okay.
we have this maddening societal need to always hustle, always move, and i really truly think that’s the cause of a lot of our problems.
granted, society is also set up in a way that also necessitates the need to always be grinding, but that isn’t the best case scenario in the long run.
no wonder we’re sick and burnt out all the time.
this winter, try to take some time to breathe and be and rest.
not that you need my permission to do so, but i promise you it’s okay.
the world will be there when you get back to it, whenever that might be.
i over-extended myself to get to the con earlier in the year and i’ve been suffering from extreme burnout.
that said, i am feeling more ambitious and creative than i have in months and i’m ready to kick it in the ass and get back to doing the things that i enjoy!
watch this space in the next few weeks as i re-organize and get everything back into tip-top shape!
it’s fitting that there was snowfall last night, calm and quiet, with little wind to usher in the shortest day of the year.
many people, myself as well sometimes, don’t enjoy the snow or cold or bitterness that seems to trail after every thing and one this time of year, but the snow last night was a welcome one.
waking up to a pristine unbothered whiteness and a crisp chill was a reminder to take it easy and to take the time to slow down, dress warmly and go with intention into the new cycle.
on this shortest day of the year, i will be taking the time to reflect on the last 12 months and meditate on how i’d like to spend the next 12 upcoming.
we can leave the past behind us, but we do ourselves a great disservice if we fail to learn from both our triumphs and mistakes.
i would implore you to also make a moment to sit with yourself, to check in, and to take stock of what’s important to you. it’s okay if those things aren’t the same as they once were. people grow and change, and with that, their priorities.
may you find peace and happiness with your life, your self, and those around you in the coming year.
i don’t think i’ve had a proper christmas since the year i stood in front of my mother, pleading with her that she get up off her chair and help me set up the christmas tree on christmas eve.
she never did.
she wouldn’t even look at me, asking if it was so wrong of her to want her children with her for christmas, like i wasn’t even there.
my brother had declined to come home, and somehow, my being home instead wasn’t good enough or even considered any sort of reason for festivities and yuletide fun at all.
she didn’t budge and my dad and i, dejected but trudging along because what else could we do?, made the best of it, just the two of us, putting up the tree and making dinner.
fast forward a few years and my parents are now divorced and i’m not a teenager begging for my mother to love me anymore, but seeing happy families with their perfect trees and their trauma-free yule time celebrations is just… really bittersweet.
i know it’s not the tree itself that’s important. the tree is inconsequential. nor is the fact that i don’t have any ornaments.
i don’t even know if i want a christmas tree and i’m actually feeling quite stupid for feeling so upset over such a dumb thing, but i told myself a while back that i would learn to sit and be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
i guess this is a part of that.
anyway, christmases may be hard, but i do try to remember that there are good things as well as bad and that bad things don’t last forever, even if the hurts tend to.
maybe tomorrow i’ll go out and pick out a tree and decorate it as ridiculously as i can with what i have on hand.
there’s just something about the muted, mellow light and how it seems to cleanse everything it touches.
the full moon is a great time to take a look back on all the happenings of the past cycle; to celebrate your triumphs and successes and to cleanse and ride yourself of any negativity and failures (while still holding on to any lessons you have learned).
i also like to take this time and meditate on all the situations the world has gone through in the last month, as a way to process these circumstances and move past any unpleasantness that may have been felt.
i thought it would be fun to share my process with you today.
perhaps you’ll find that it’s a fitting way to welcome in each new cycle and that it’s a great way to allow good things into your life to fill up the spaces where negativity and muckiness used to sit.
i know i have.
so, try it out and, if you’ve never meditated before, don’t be scared to start small.
one minute. two minutes. five minutes.
it doesn’t matter.
what matters is that you make a point to sit with yourself (something that almost everyone i know is entirely uncomfortable with) and your thoughts in order to process, to learn, to grow.
let’s begin.
breathe.
hold 7 seconds.
release.
hold 10 seconds.
repeat.
as you feel yourself relax, as you allow your worries and fears come to the forefront of your mind, toss them into the aether and dissipate.
don’t dwell. don’t stop to over-analyze.
learn how to be okay with sitting and resting and being.
i do this practice every full moon.
i release my problems and doubts and anything troubling and i trust that Mother Moon will guide me through.
if you have a deity or guide, you can also reach out to them. do whatever you feel works best for you. there’s no rules or certain way to do this.
once you feel you’ve released all you need to, quietly come back to yourself and reengage in the world around you, ready to start this new cycle with a clear head and heart.
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