December 21st is the day of the Solstice. The word solstice comes from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still” or “to make stand”). It is time to pause, to stand still.
When you look at your life as a whole, your day after day, your routine…..how much time do you allow for standing still? This may sound like an odd question, but outside of the hours of slumber, how much time in your day do you spend doing things that you really love that involve being “somewhat” still. A cup of tea, a good book, a bath, drawing, painting, or whatever you’re passionate about? (Not talking about a good run here, or sitting on the couch watching TV)
Overall, our bodies are meant for movement just as much as they are meant for stillness. I acknowledge that in order to maintain health our bodies must move, daily. It is however equally important to embrace the stillness. It is all about balance.
I know a whole host of people who never take their vacation time from work because they are too busy or think they do not have time to rest? Say that again? If you are one of these individuals, I mean no offense when I say this is crazy talk! Much like the seasons, we are all meant for the same cycles. We have way too much movement, too much chaos, and too much busyness to our lives. To do lists as far as the eye can see, beating ourselves up at the end of the day for not getting enough done….and oftentimes the moments that we do take for rest we have feelings of guilt and regret. Days of being so “busy”, but not doing anything particularly well…..having a spot on clean house, chores done, but you are completely and utterly exhausted! How is that working for you?
It is time for a change!
This new year, drop the New Year’s resolutions. I have never been a fan. Why do I say this? A number of reasons actually. I make changes every.single.day. Every single day is a day to start over. A new beginning. A day to do better than yesterday. Setting one day a year to start everything anew and then beating yourself up when you falter? This is a waste of time and sets you up for unneeded negativity and guilt!
Do I do anything in the new year? So many things! A vision board is where I begin. I create what I want to do, how I want to feel as if I already have an abundance of it in my life. I grab a big piece of poster board, markers, cut-outs of magazines, and my artist ability (we all have some) and I go nuts. Never stop dreaming. Puts those dreams on your board. This has nothing to do with exercise, your diet, your “shoulds”, NONE OF THAT. No shoulding on yourself! I am talking your vision of who you want to be…who you are….DREAM BIG! Think Law of Attraction here.
What else do I do? I journal daily, perform self-care rituals every day, write a gratitude list before bed every evening, and have begun to embrace some new things in my life due to a few very special people who are holding the mirror in front of my face, helping me to really, truly, for the first time in a long time…..stand in my power. We are all much more powerful than we realize…and when you realize it to be true for you….watch out world!
Stay tuned as I begin to share many new things with all of you.
Our bodies were meant for rest. Go inside, embody the time of the solstice. Understand that winter is an important period to go internally, a time to rest, a time to prepare for rebirth. What will you reemerge as in 2018?
