Welcoming Stillness: A week of rest.
Posted on January 01 2024
I am inviting you to join me in a Winter Break.
The New Year is here. Many people are looking back, looking forward and pondering resolutions- More vegetables? More exercise? Drink less alcohol? Drink more water? Lose weight? Save money?
Winter is the time to slow down, go deep inside, and connect with our source.
In spite of my admonishment to not set a resolution, I have a resolution: I am listening to my body. I am resting. I am allowing myself to sleep; to take naps; to close my laptop, close my eyes, pull a blanket over my arms, lean into my chair and drift off;
This week, I walked slowly, and with attention, to nature around me; I saw ice as clear as crystal; I felt my limbs move and swing, and appreciated my good health and physical condition; I stepped onto the porch to let out my dog and inhaled; I smelled wood smoke, damp leaves, rain, and that funny smell that comes with rain; I startled a large bird who flew out of the evergreens.
I took a novel to bed and read for a few minutes, drifting off to sleep in the sleeper car of a young mother and her daughter traveling on a train to Toronto. And another night with a fictional family in Peekskill, having many more problems than mine.
I stayed home and edited Three Sisters Herbals product labels on New Year’s Eve. I went to bed after midnight, to the sound of fireworks somewhere in the distance and my phone dinging with salutations. I woke up at 8:30—unusually late for me—and I felt rested, and that is the theme of this week.
I thought about Kim, and Three Sisters Herbals; the product line; the labels; ordering ingredients; vendors markets; and you, my future friends.
I thought,: Am I happy? How do I feel in my body? How do I want to live? Who needs my help? What is important to me? My mind wasn't still--it was on fire--racing through the next year, with ideas and possibilities.
The weather shifted and it reminds me of spring.
But, it’s not! Under the earth, everything is very much alive, waiting for spring, but I don’t see the buds on the trees or tips of bulbs in the soil. It’s not time, yet.
This week set some time for answering your questions:
Ask yourself big questions and start to respond to them in a journal; in your mind; in prayer and meditation.
Am I happy?
How do I feel in my body?
What do I really need?
How do I want to live?
Who needs my help?
How should I spend my time?
What is important to me?
What do I regret?
Who are the important people in my life?
This action can be as informal or as formal as you like. You can focus on one question or on a few, depending on what feels right for you.
For the next week, continue these:
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Turn off the TVs and your devices.
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Take naps. Go to bed earlier and sleep in.
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Sit quietly, wrapped in a blanket, or by a fire. Look out a window and watch snow fall and the rain. Listen to the wind, or the stillness. Listen to your furnace cycle off and on. Listen to your house creak, cars driving by and your neighbors coming and going. Listen to your children in the background. Invite them to snuggle in next to you, or not.
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Breathe slowly and evenly. Listen to your breath. Place your hand on your heart, (or your neck) and feel your heart beat.
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Walk slowly, stretch slowly, and lift weight—anything heavy for you—move slowly and with purpose.
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Go outside. Feel the air on your face. Hear the wind and the sounds around you. Breathe in the cold air—slowly and through a scarf or your coat—if it’s too cold. Notice the smells outside. Look up at the sky, day or night.
We are laying the foundation of our New Year’s resolutions, Join me next week for next steps in stillness.
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