It’s coming on Christmas. They’re cutting down trees. ~River, Joni Mitchell
Holidays bustle all around us. Though the year is ending, the to-do lists are endless. The cultural current is in overdrive.
Winter Solstice. A counter-current gently calls.
Winter solstice marks the threshold of winter. It draws us to the darkness, the stillness, the quiet. Hybernating animals make their way into the earth. And we, too, are called, into our own winter caves, into our bodies, our deep knowing, our inner wisdom.
Perhaps the holiday frenzy is, in part, our mindless resistance to the call of quiet. We may fear the emotions that come in the absence of activity. Or dread some whispering inner guidance to make a change we’ve carefully avoided.
The solstice marks a season where we start anew.
Our New Year’s intentions can be more aligned, more true, more purposeful, when they come from a place of reflection, release, and restoration.
Reflection
Winter gives us darkness in which to look back over the prior turns around the sun.
What did the year hold?
Look back to your intentions at the beginning of the year.
What worked?
What shifted?
How do you feel when you look back?
What word describes your last year?
Release
What didn’t serve that you want to release?
Which thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, goals no longer fit?
What occurred that needs grieving?
Honor that which wants to be released. Take as long as you need. Invite it to go, with blessings.
Restoration
In the clean dark quiet that remains after reflection and release, what do you know? As your do-er self rests, allow your inner elder to hold you close. Feel the strength and safety of her arms, experience, and acceptance.
Call up your inner visionary. Invite him or her to lead the re-forming, the envisioning of what is to come, your healing and return to lighter days. This, too, need not be rushed.
Winter offers space from the noise, outside expectations, who we once were. It calls us inward, to rest, to heal, to re-form, and to stoke the fire in our bellies to lead us into the new year.
You’re invited to join me in a Winter Women’s Circle. We’ll explore all this and more in the safe cocoon of a virtual retreat. Learn more here. Registration closes Wednesday, December 19, 2018.