Time to Slow Down!
Where I live, the days are getting shorter and the hours of darkness are increasing. It is also getting colder…much colder! This is the time of year when you can see Mother Nature slowing down. Several of the birds have left for warmer climates and the animals are moving into hibernation mode. Everything in our natural environment is slowing down.
Except humans! This is the time of year when we try to go, as my friend said, “faster than the speed of light.” Who can blame you? You are in an environment that bombards you with advertising, pressure to buy more, invitations to parties, plans for holidays and children who are wound up tighter than a drum with excitement. This environment can be very hard to ignore. The strategy that most people employ to keep up with everything is to try to go even faster. It can be a crazy, stressful, pressure filled time of year.
Or it can be a peaceful, inspired, magical time of year. Nature slows down for a reason. Continuous growth and movement is not balanced and it is not sustainable – for nature or for you. More hours of darkness invite you to sleep longer, a blanket of snow implies that you need to curl up under your own blanket and rest and even the animals are moving slowly and gently through the woods, if they are moving at all. There is stillness in nature that invites you to slow down, connect and go inside. By taking a few moments to align yourself with the energy of nature you will connect with a deeper energy that is sustainable and that will support you as you move through the month of December. You may choose to attend all the festivities and take part in all the preparations but it will be from a place of connection rather than a place of franticness. Take a few moments everyday and observe the nature around you. As you rush from place to place, notice the trees, appreciate the sky and listen for the quiet. Connecting with your natural environment in small ways everyday will shift your whole experience. I am wishing all of you a month of connection, peace and magic!