Conscious Creation of your Life
Hello Dear Ones and Happy New Year!
Just prior to writing today, I stepped outside. I’d been inside, working away at my computer. I needed a break. My body was fidgeting. I needed to get outside. So I bundled up and out I went. It’s maybe 18 degrees, really big cold winds, and snowy. I first shoveled the walkways. Then I went to the woodshed and hauled load after load of firewood to our house, remembering the hours of splitting this wood not so long ago. Then I took kitchen scraps to the compost pile. (The compost pile where I recently lovingly tucked a little ermine that our fierce kitty hunted. I thought of that beautiful creature as I was out there). With no further outdoor tasks, I just stood in it all. The fierce winds, the swaying and creaking forest of trees, the incredible cold on my face, and the glitter of snow blowing up into the air, lit up into diamonds by the sun. “Why would I go inside?” I asked myself. It was just too good to miss, and so I stayed, feeling and listening and seeing. I just stayed so that I could be a part of it all.
I’ve been journaling every day, and a theme I keep coming to is how much the bitterness and bleakness of winter is medicinal. I’ve been going out for walks with a dear friend every morning. Bundled in layers and layers of wool, we set out in the absolutely bitter and biting winds. It is hard to get started, but one step at a time, and the comfort of friendship, keep us going. By the time we are halfway done, I feel like a sauna. Layers start coming off. Rather than being bundled against the elements, I peel away the layers and join the elements. I am hot as a woodstove, generating such heat from the inside out. With layers removed, my body becomes free to feel it all, and to revel in it. This makes me think about those people who do cold-plunges in water every day of the year. Or the ones who sauna and then jump into snow. This contrast of inner heat and outer cold is mechanically cleansing. Like using alternating ice and cold on an injury, we are manually moving lymph and blood to heal our bodies.
I am thinking about this bitter cold in contrast to inner fire (the fire of a body exercising, and the heat of a woodstove in our home). This contrast feels incredibly enlivening right now. (Those of you who tuned in to my autumn-time writings might notice that I finally made the turn from summer into autumn and winter. And I am so happy to say that I am reveling in it).
This cold/hot contrast is serving to enliven and awaken me. It’s quite profound. In this same way that the contrast of hot and cold manually moves elements of our bodies, it is also creating change in our mind and spirit. The contrasts is moving old ways out and welcoming in new insights, new ideas, new dreams.
And so- new ideas, new designs for my life are sprouting up.
I sit here today with a very clear mind, wondering if any of you have had a similar experience?
As I sit in this clarity, I move quickly into conscious design of my life. How do I want to live? What are my highest priorities? What lights me up and what dims me? What would I love more of? What new things would I love to try? What are you ready to say no to?
I am not one to create New Year’s resolutions. And I know that there is a cultural movement right now to re-define the New Year as occurring in spring, not mid-winter. Here’s what I believe:
Winter is a time for great renewal, and for tending the soil of our being. When we think of our lives as beautiful gardens, we use winter to dream up the garden, and to build the soil with structures and nutrients to support the year’s harvest. We then plan which seeds we will grow within the structured and nourished soil, and we decide which ones to grow a lot of, which to just try out as a test crop (just a plant or two), which ones we will not grow this year, etc. Springtime is when we plant the seeds of our garden into this nourished and structured soil (and then tend to them well).
This moment in mid-winter is our time to heal, re-structure/envision/dream, to re-nourish and to rest. If you want to plant a few seeds, by all means do so. However please keep in mind the real wisdom of this season.
Winter is our medicine. It is here to help us heal and rebalance our bodies and lives. Winter is for the deep inner work. Winter is here to whisper dreamings and longings and ideas to you. Winter is here to set you up grandly for the high times that are ahead.
So here is what this means: you will likely need to slow down, quiet yourself, develop a practice of inner quiet, start journaling, ask yourself the hard questions and wait for the answers to drop into your hands, lie down and take a nap, go to bed early, stand still in the middle of a quiet forest, savor hot wintery food, have tea with a beloved friend, say no to things that no longer serve you, etc…
Investing in all that winter offers to you is one of the greatest investments in yourself that you can make. This is the set up for the year of your dreams. This is the moment in time to build the structure and nourish the soil so that you can grow the garden of your beautiful life.
(I need to pause here. I am such a “do-er”, that please know I am writing this to myself as much as I am writing this to each of you.)
So putting this into practical life, here are some things to ask yourself:
What would you love this year to look like and feel like?
What would you like more of this year?
What no longer serves you, and you will say no to?
Are there dreams that are worthy of your time and attention this year?
Are there new things you would like to try?
And- how can you develop a winter-time lifestyle of rest, quiet, introspection, nourishment (mind-body-spirit), etc… (to support your life that is coming?)
Imagine: What would your year ahead be like if you use this time medicinally, as a beautiful set up for all that is to come?
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, insights, and wonderings!
In deep gratitude for everything in this sweet life,
Rebecca
p.s. Moving to Substack is coming. It is a seed that I plan to plant. I might plant it sooner than spring, but when I do, it will be supported by this inner winter-time work. I’ll keep you posted!
* Disclaimer: This likely goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: Everything I write is for educational purposes only. Nothing I write or share can be deemed diagnostic or medical advice. Nothing I write or share can replace your own healthcare providers or your own internal knowing and wisdom. Period. Please seek tailored medical care and advice via your skilled healthcare team whenever you need it.
