Learn to slow down & listen to your soul as a path back to the magic of the holiday season.
Holiday weeks can be busy…
Instead of having extra time to slow down from our usually hectic pace, hunker down and fully absorb the feeling of the holiday, we find we have to speed up, complete more tasks, and see more people.
Are these just the woes of this introvert? Maybe.
But the pace of our world moves at an unhealthy speed for ALL of our souls, introvert and extravert alike. Though many of us live in bodies and minds that love to stay busy busy busy, the soul? It craves quiet.
When is the last time you tended to the health of your soul?
When is the last time you slowed down enough and became quiet enough to really hear the wisdom of your soul?
If you’re like me and you find that you crave a bit of quiet and you crave understanding the deeper meanings behind the things we do instead of simply going through the actions of the “shoulds” and “supposed tos,” perhaps the holidays leave you feeling a little…exhausted.
I find that I get really excited *about* the holidays, and then start to dread actually having to *do* the holidays.
There’s a quote by American author Mary Jo Putney that says, “What one loves in childhood stays in the heart forever.”
When I think about what part of the holidays I get excited about, it’s the feeling of the holidays. The feeling of wonderment, magic, whimsy, and joy.
Those feelings were so REAL as a child and had nothing to do with cooking and cleaning and baking and buying and complaining and dreading and busyness and stress and expectations expectations expectations.
Why is it again that as children we can’t wait to grow up and become adults??
But what if it doesn’t have to be the end of the magic? What if adulthood isn’t a curse that casts out all feelings of whimsy and wonder? What if there’s a way to still experience the childlike wonder of the holidays even as a – gasp! – mature adult.
Since my husband’s job doesn’t obey the laws of having holidays off and because we lived in a different state than our families for a few years, there actually were a couple times where I celebrated a holiday alone.
I’d make a big pot of macaroni and cheese and watch children’s movies (you know, the ones with all the adult humor that kids don’t get anyways). And let me tell you – it was pretty friggin’ magical. Seriously.
It actually wasn’t until I moved away to a place where I didn’t know anyone that I realized how amazing it is to have SO MUCH TIME on your hands and how delightful it is to do very little.
This is nothing against my family and friends – I have a pretty stellar tribe. I just had some rare opportunities to meet my soul.
And when I listened to my soul here is what it said:
- Welcome back.
- Do less.
- Don’t rush.
- Embrace quiet.
- Remember to play.
- Quality over quantity.
- Our struggles are our gifts.
- Don’t forget me.
This holiday season don’t forget about the health of your soul – and your heart, and your mind – and take good care of that body, too.
If you have an opportunity to do less, take it. If you have a moment where you don’t have to rush, savor it.
If you simply can’t carve out that time for quiet because people won’t stop talking to you, sign up for “one silent night” on Dec 21st (our candlelight hygge tea ceremony celebration of the winter solstice!).
If you have a chance to play, revel in it. If you can bake just one batch of your absolute favorite cookies instead of 18 batches of your medium favorite cookies, bake those.
If you can carve out one evening with your favorite people over endless evenings with people that drain you, try that. Figure out what your version of mac ‘n cheese and children’s movies is and treat yourself to it.
And if it all feels like a struggle – find your biggest canning jar and your brightest stack of post-it notes and start filling that baby up with little notes of gratitude like crazy. Consider it your internal armor if you can’t change the external circumstances just yet.
And most importantly, when you hear your soul whispering about the things that really matter, the things that really bring you joy, the way to do things differently that truly lights you up inside? Listen. Like your life depends on it.
Because, funny enough, it does.
A little peace & quiet…
Need a little help carving out some peace and quiet during the next 5 1/2 weeks of the holiday season? I’m here for ya!
Be sure to check out the details on the final workshop of the year: our Candlelight Hygge Tea Ceremony celebrating the Winter Solstice on December 21st. Come on out to embrace your inner and outer hygge – the art of coziness!
Yin Yoga for Stress-Relief continues on Wednesday evenings – only 4 weeks left! 11/27, 12/4, 12/11 and 12/18. Do you have pre-paid passes you’re needing to use up? What a perfect time to engage in some powerful self-care.
