I was listening to Danielle LaPorte's podcast a few weeks ago. She said "we have to reflect to reset". It really resonated with me. We live in a culture that promotes the ideal of "no looking back" & while doing so filled with regret can hold us back, there is healing in looking back....in reflection. The quiet medicine of winter is rooted in reflection & introspection. These dark days of the year are a time to go into the womb of the earth to connect with our higher, wiser self. This period of hibernation is the perfect environment for not only resting our souls, but for going deep into thought.
Rupi Kaur has a beautiful poem that I love reading at the end of the year. It is sweet medicine for the soul. I want to encourage you to read it, sit with it, allow it to be a sort of meditation. Then create your own personal ritual using the poem as a guide. Gift yourself this journey. It will be important & necessary work as we step into a new year. A soulful cleansing.
After your journey work, take some time to think about what energy, what feeling you want to have with you in your heart & soul for 2022. Each year I have a ritual of choosing 3 words for myself at the start of the year. In 2021 my words were GRACE, LOVE & BEAUTY. WOW!!! They were powerful choices that I feel were gifted to me straight from Spirit as it has been a long time since such powerful words found their way to me. As I journey back through 2021, I see that Spirit was preparing me when these words found their way into my heart. I entered the new year with so much excitement, my goodness there was a wedding to plan! Soon after however, the very foundation of my life crumbled as I received news that changed our entire family. I felt despair so intensely, there were weeks I spent so confused, I genuinely found myself walking in circles. I spent so much time in meditation, prayer, writing & crying the holiest of tears. I just kept coming back to the words that chose me. I had no idea the power these three little words would have.
Grace....mistakes serve a purpose instead of shame. Faith, miracles & prayer. Extending mercy & kindness to ourselves & others even when it is hard.
Love...fierce mama bear love that is a fire in your womb. Loving without condition, boundaries or the expectation of reciprocation. Leaning into love & not fear. Believing someone will love me unconditionally despite flaws. Knowing love is all that matters.
Beauty...seeking it, seeing it in all people & all things. Knowing beauty is sometimes raw & messy. Dismantling social constructs. Being a beauty hunter. Choosing the beauty way knowing it is a path of magic, curiosity & discovery.
2021 asked me to show up in ways I never imagined I would have to, in ways I often didn't think I was capable of. I sit here on the eve of the New Year with so much fullness in my heart & soul. Grateful for the path Spirit showed me, for the Earth Angels that walked at my side, held my hand, wiped my tears, made space for me to grieve & kept on loving me when I wasn't sure how to love myself.
I have been doing some big inner soul work the last few weeks. My words for 2022 came to me very quickly. CONNECTION, FREEDOM & NOURISH. When I look back over the last 12 months, when I spread those memories out before me, it is clear the medicine my soul needs. There is an ache in my bones so deeply for connection. Freedom in rooted in releasing expectations, resentment & reconnecting with my wild woman. Nourish because damn 2021 was all about intense care-taking of the people I love most & I need to nourish my exhausted mind, body & soul.
If you have never chosen words for yourself, let this be the beginning of a powerful ritual. Find some way to memorialize the words you have chosen. I love vision boards where I put my words boldly with images that connect to my vision. Maybe for you it is as simple as writing them on a sticky note & putting on your bathroom mirror to see each morning as you wake. Don't make it complicated. Sweet & simple is all you need. It can be as easy as starting a new journal where you write your words on the cover or opening page. Journaling is an important part of my journey. I try to write each day as I wake but I never put pressure on myself about it. Writing is cathartic, it can alchemize the chaos & pain we find ourselves in into a medicine that nourishes us.
I have created a year of journal prompts that I love working with. They are often a springboard into something much deeper & powerful. Sometimes, they are just fun! I hope you enjoy the first 31 days of prompts. I will continue to share new prompts at the start of each month. You should be able to easily download and print the journal sheet to tuck inside your journal or to just reflect on as you move throughout your days. I hope you enjoy!
As we find ourselves in the depths of winter, please take time to nourish yourself, to slow yourself down following the pace of nature. Settle in, embrace the Quiet Medicine of Winter. Shanti....
