January often presents some internal,
And external for that matter,
Conflict for me.
As a coach,
And as a person who is quite dedicated to discipline and accomplishment,
I see January as ripe with opportunity.
It's a time when we are collectively ready and eager to reset and renew.
People want to set goals,
To work towards new beginnings,
And to explore new thresholds.
And a part of me is also ignited by the excitement and promise of devising a plan to overcome challenges and propel myself into a bigger,
Brighter,
And bolder version of me.
But as a mindfulness instructor,
And moreover as a mindfulness practitioner,
I feel the true calling of winter to be in marked opposition to the enthusiastic and sometimes even forceful energy of the resolution wave.
The short days and long nights,
The chill in the air,
The dormancy of the forests,
All point us towards rest and introspection.
Around every turn,
Nature shows us the value in slowing down,
Of hibernating,
Practically begging us to trade our summer frenzy for cozy evenings by the fire with a good book and a beloved pet nearby.
Winter is not the natural time to start new projects or forge lofty goals.
New beginnings are for the spring,
Which will come in due time.
Instead,
Winter calls us to delicately nourish the dormant seeds within our hearts,
And to embrace the darkness not as an enemy to our productivity,
But instead as a dear companion attending to our restoration through rest.
I've always bemoaned winter.
I'm not a fan of the cold.
The darkness feels depressing.
I long for fresh air that doesn't sting my face.
And all through the winter months,
I often complain and whittle away the hours daydreaming of sunlight and sweat.
It's very human to want to categorize things into either-or lists.
We feel the need to polarize,
To label things as good or bad,
Right or wrong,
Light or dark.
But more and more,
I see that these labels are rarely universally true.
Most experience is neither this nor that,
But is instead,
Simultaneously,
Both.
All and none of the above.
If this is true for winter,
Which it surely must be,
It bears the question,
How do we honor the winter,
Whether that's the actual season of cold weather and shorter days,
Or a figurative personal winter,
A dark night of the soul,
So to speak,
With the reverence and stillness it deserves?
How do we allow ourselves to be cradled by dormancy,
While also recognizing the enormous potential for growth and expansion that the darkness so lovingly places before us?
How do we surrender to winter,
Not as an act of resignation,
But as an act of reverence,
Of adoration for the absolutely divine design woven into these months of darkness and rest?
Let's start by settling into the body in the present moment,
Making yourself as comfortable and cozy as possible,
Gathering any warm blankets or props to help you feel cradled and comforted.
Noticing any sounds you may hear outside of your immediate space,
Cars driving by,
Wind blowing,
Not judging,
Just noticing,
Allowing the sounds to be,
And then bringing your attention in a degree to the sounds within the space around you,
A clock ticking,
The house creaking,
Allowing these sounds to be exactly as they are without assigning them qualities of good or bad,
Just hearing,
Just listening to your environment.
And then drawing your sense of hearing even more inward towards your own body,
Noticing the sounds that you make,
Perhaps the sound of your breath,
Or of your heart beating gently within your chest,
A quiet and steady testimony to the life within you,
Not always perceived,
Yet always present.
And then gently scanning the body,
Bringing careful attention to the layers of being that continually support us just beneath our veil of conscious perception,
Our inner mycelium,
Networks of blood vessels and nerves,
Organs that pump and clean and digest,
An entire bodily ecosystem sustaining and renewing,
Readying us much like the earth prepares the crocuses and daffodils that surface from underneath a blanket of snow in the spring.
Bringing your attention to the heart space.
Can you sense the heart beating,
Your personal steady rhythm of life and love?
Can you feel the blood circulating through your body all the way to your fingers and toes?
Maybe you sense a gentle vibration or a soft pulsing in your palms and toe tips.
And bringing your attention to the breath,
Not forcing or controlling,
Just noticing the gentle movements of the body as it breathes.
Can you sense your whole body breathing,
The oxygen-rich blood traveling through your bloodstream,
Each in-breath nourishing,
Each out-breath cleansing?
And then noticing the belly and deep within your gut,
These organs digesting your food,
Bringing nourishment,
And also digesting your emotions,
Holding,
Turning over,
Releasing all that needs to move through you,
The joys,
The pains,
The love and the loss,
All processed deep within your tissues.
Can you allow the body's wisdom to take what it needs and to let go of what it doesn't?
And then broadening your awareness to include the whole body as if it were a mirror of the earth,
A miniature version of the planet,
Living,
Breathing,
Digesting,
Resting and renewing instinctually,
Wisely,
In this winter season.
And then begin to gently bring your awareness back with gratitude and reverence to the room around you.
And when you are ready,
You can open your eyes.
I invite you to lean into the winter days ahead as opportunities for quiet contemplation,
Moments of stillness in which to allow your deepest desires to slowly unfold before you,
Not forced or birthed out of drive for achievement,
But rather slowly,
Delicately forming and emerging from you in their own divine timing,
Just as nature nurtures,
Unfolds,
And unfurls into bounty.
What do you wish to gently nurture into being over the next few months?
What seeds are wintering within your heart right now?
May winter allow you to connect deeply within.
