“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck
It's the time of year when we're all so busy, busy, busy, doing this, getting that, worrying about if, where and when - or maybe it's just me?!
It's hard to truly 'feel' life when we move so fast and with so much.
How would it feel to let it all go?
Perhaps the novelty would be nice at first but then I think we would experience a little discomfort because we have become habitual creatures of busyness.
This busyness is a distraction from 'feeling' life. Distractions cover, obscure, decorate and distract. Words/labels like busy, nice, kind, happy, strong, resilient, clever, thin and attractive are considered acceptable, ideal and better somehow than sad, angry, selfish, plain, average, weak or vulnerable. In truth we can only honestly be the first if we have experienced the second.
I think most of us are scared of the dark; the unpleasant, the difficult, the uncomfortable.
So we cover those with the other, but the heart needs both to 'feel' life.
Leaning into seasonal living has shown me that I have distracted myself for so many years with this busyness, not noticing how disconnected I had become. Living seasonally has shown me that it is hard but essential, to move through all of it, that nothing remains static. Life, emotions, situations, relationships, circumstances and well-being are all in flux, flowing and cyclical.
Resistance to this cyclical flow causes suffering in some way or another, it's not always apparent at that moment, but it shows up eventually. If we deny our feelings of sadness, anger or our need to be selfish for example, those feelings and needs only serve to weigh heavy on our hearts until eventually it becomes too much. We have to deal with our needs and feelings at some point, it’s much harder to undo years of difficult feelings and unmet needs than to move through them as they arise. We cannot avoid the uncomfortable forever.
Nature shows us a valuable lesson in winter. Wintering is a process of leaning into the discomfort, surrendering and flowing through it, with it. It is hard, but necessary for growth.
We move through the seasons in our daily lives but also in our personal life seasons.
In winter the trees have let go of their greenery, leaving their branches and shapes exposed for the first time in many months. They look vulnerable, delicate and bare, yet it also reveals the birds that were previously hidden away in the foliage. The spaces between the trees and their shapes create beautiful silhouettes against the delicate rose-gold sunsets. The joy, colour and beauty revealed in their stark exposed vulnerability.
A seemingly brutal clearing of trees near to me felt unnecessarily harsh, yet the colourful strength exposed in the rounds of cut branches and the radiant leaves of a tree, previously hidden from view, reminded me that clearing is often necessary and creates space for growth. We too can experience this if we lean in, and flow with winter.
When we start to let go of what is familiar, we can feel vulnerable and exposed, but if we stay long enough we can see that beauty, colour and joy may also be revealed in that process.
The winter solstice marks the first day of true winter, the shortest, darkest day of the year, before the light returns. It is a potent opportunity to be present with the energy of the season. To move into and surrender to the darkness, to reflect on what has been distracting or obscuring your true self, and to feel what can you let go off. Allow yourself to be exposed and vulnerable. Then let the light move in, shine through, and reveal the hidden depths of your being. Revealing what sparks joy and growth that will fuel new intentions for the year ahead.
A group recently shared a beautiful practice called 'two beats longer'. It's a practice of slowing time and expanding present moment awareness. A way to pause and slow down so we can really connect to the present moment, whatever it brings. A simple practice of savouring the moment for just two beats longer. Whether its a moment of joy or anger, success or failure, special or mundane, stay with it for just two beats longer.
Winter invites us to slow down and when we slow down we notice more, feel more. This may be hard but it is necessary to fully connect to life, to our true way of being.
In terms of our human ancestral existence on earth, our urban, disconnected way of life is very short compared to the primal, connected way of living that preceded it. Our natural self, our primal brain, remembers how it feels to be connected to nature, to live in harmony with the seasons. When we connect to nature’s cycle our minds, hearts and bodies remember, intuitively feeling a sense of returning home.
I invite you to take two beats longer to notice how you feel when you are out in nature, on your yoga mat, with loved ones and when you are caught up in the busyness of the season.
Make the most of this shift in energy as the cycle of the sun makes it’s return, take time out to pause, reflect and set intentions on this Winter Solstice.
If you would like to connect with others and gather in the potent dark before welcoming back the light we'll be sharing a practice on
Wednesday 21st December (the Winter Solstice)
In Assington Village Hall
6.30-8.30pm.
Click here if you'd like to join me.
Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings and connect with me this year. I look forward to connecting with you in 2023.
May the brightness and warmth of sun rays enlighten every corner of your heart and home as we welcome back the light. Happy Winter Solstice.
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year
Om shanti
Sophia
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