For me, I've been called to take a slower approach moving into the new year. At first, I felt guilty about not getting things moving and knowing what I wanted to send my energy toward. After some reflection, I had this message come through my journaling. Maybe it resonates with you...
This is an invitation to slow down.
To evaluate your values.
To tune in to your natural rhythm.
What do you want to commit to? (Not what should you commit to)
What is important to your soul?
What is in alignment with your energy?
Is it really to "get in shape"?
Or is it to retune the way you are living your life?
Do your actions feed you?
Do they nourish you?
When we slow down we begin to see things more clearly. We have time to look at what we are expending our energy on.
When this year began-like most people I wanted to start off on a new improved trajectory.
To sculpt my life in a way that is productive and fulfilling.
And then I wondered...what if I'm actually not the sculptor and instead I am the one being sculpted?
By life.
What does life want me to see right now?
What does life want me to give birth to? What creative projects are meant to come through?
I realized...if I slow down maybe I can see more clearly what is being revealed, instead of feeling like I have to generate answers.
It is said that Michelangelo, an Italian sculptor, explained that he didn't create his sculptures, he uncovered the creation that was already there within the stone. He looked at his sculptures as already existing beneath the slabs of marble.
He "simply" removed the excess marble to reveal the creation. I imagine that he got a felt sense of what was needed in each moment as he was creating. He was present, and he took action.
Maybe that is how we are being created by life.
Our true nature, a work of creation to be uncovered.
And maybe the busyness and habitual patterns are like the excess marble covering up what is truly within.
When we slow down we can see what is emerging underneath the marble of our personality habits. When we slow down we can CHOOSE where we put our energy and let go of things that don't matter. The excess marble begins to slough off.
We can then decide what commitments we are going to keep with ourselves. What projects feed our soul?
We meet life where we are. And we take action.
So...if slowing down is the answer...why do we seem to avoid this?
When we slow down, we begin to feel. If there are emotions that we have been trying to mask through excessive doing and achieving they will no doubt rise to the surface when we slow down.
For some people slowing down can feel unsafe, unfamiliar and at the very least uncomfortable.
This means that we need to access new tools to regulate our nervous systems so we can be the container for our emotions and express them in a healthy way.
For me, these regulation tools include breathwork, journaling and a movement practice. To get back into my body and be present with what choices I can make in the moment.
To see the opportunities life is presenting me with.
And just like any tools, I need to consistently practice using them.
So...when you are choosing what to commit to this year, maybe a commitment to your own self-care in the form of slowing down makes the list.
Perhaps a daily practice of breathwork and/or yoga are what you need as regulation tools. Or maybe you have other grounding practices that serve to anchor you in your body and help you see clearly.
CHOOSE what is right for you. (By the way... giving ourselves a choice helps the nervous system to calm down too!)
What serves your rhythm right now? Where is the energy pulling you?
I'm including a breath practice here for you to try that helps to regulate the nervous system. This may be a tool you want to integrate into your daily self-care routine.
Here is to a slow and intentional start to 2022. May we take a breath and see what life is revealing to us and what wants to be birthed through us more clearly than ever before!