Hello friends,
Tis the season of kindness and generosity! One week away from the winter solstice and we are clearly in the thick of the holiday hubbub. Isn’t it interesting that we humans have created all kinds of excitement and commercial frenzy at a time when the natural world is imploring us to go inward, be still, and restore ourselves? It hasn’t always been the way it is now...
Cultures around the world have long held feasts and celebrated holidays around the winter solstice. Fire and light are traditional symbols of celebrations held on the darkest day of the year. Most of these celebrations were around welcoming the return of longer days and the corresponding increase in positive energy in the year to come. Over the years, these celebrations and honoring of the change of the season have morphed into what they are now.
Don’t get me wrong, I see that many beautiful parts of these traditions are still alive – the honoring of fire and light in the darkness, feasts and celebrations of community, family, good food, and good health.
It’s the commercial hype and BUSYNESS of the season that feel out of sync with the natural rhythms. I don’t know, but there’s something about people trampling others at Black Friday sales feels really disharmonious with the season of kindness and generosity.
But perhaps this too is part of the winter season. Winter exposes Nature’s naked essence – and our own.
This is a side of ourselves that we’d rather not honor, but it is there too. And this season certainly exposes it all.
As a business owner, I have a bit of an internal struggle around this time of year. I am in a pickle if I don’t add my voice to the mix of seasonal marketing. A good chunk of my annual sales income comes during the holidays. And my family and I are so grateful for every one of those sales! So, I do the only thing I can do in these times…
I get quiet and listen.
Then I weave my way through the season, doing my best to market my products in a way that feels authentic and in-keeping with my inner wisdom.
The winter invites us to return home – really listen to our inner wisdom.
Do you also feel more introspective in this season? It’s okay to trust that. That is nature’s wisdom nudging you.
Remember that we need to extend kindness and generosity to ourselves too.
This is to be a time when energy storage grows larger than energy spending. It’s okay to spend more time listening and being still rather than speaking and doing. It is the concentrated, internal force of winter that enables our inner seeds to burst forth in spring growth.
Allow yourself to be more receptive, introspective and storage oriented. There is work going on, but inside…
Wishing you and yours the stillness and restoration of the season. With love and gratitude always.