Reflections of January
We are saying goodbye to the year of the wood snake a year symbolizing transformation, strategic growth, and introspection, with individuals. We are entering the year of the fire horse. The year of the fire horse representing a powerful, action-oriented time for bold steps, leadership, and significant personal or cultural change, but requiring mindful management to avoid chaos and volatility. The shift of these energies are not instantaneous. The official New Year in the Chinese Calendar starts February 17th. While We have entered a New Year in the western world , the fire-y spring of the horse energy still has a ways to go. This time is ripe for looking at what is the tail end of what needs to be shed in order to step into this fire horse season and reap the benefits fully.
Along with that , my clients friends family and myself are seeing SO many leg injuries. Feet, ankles, calves and hips. This has been going on since December with new ones coming. Not only that, but my dreams have all a common theme of immobility or being lost. Where I am stuck in frustrating and mundane roadblocks unable to get to my desired destination. All this is signaling me to rest, constructive, nourishing rest. I found myself realizing that doom scrolling was the only thing that came to mind when I thought of resting! I knew then redefining what rest meant was important and necessary.
Valuable questions I have been exploring and asking myself are:
What do I do for rest?
What are restful activities?
What feelings signal that I am resting or have rested?
If I were to imagine my life and the activities as a bank account, what in my life is making deposits? What in my life is making withdrawals? Where am I overspending?
These have been essential in helping draw awareness. Almost overnight I decided to :
Ignore social media, resisting the urge to even check my emails, calendar, ETC. Replacing that with morning rituals like watering my plants, making tea, and morning meditation and prayers.
Select a book to read before bed ( Completing The Seven by my teacher Arlene Curley ) to replace watching hours of television programs.
Replace draining weekend nightlife with nourishing fun daytime activities like going to the spa, body work, hiking, sound baths, ecstatic dance events, sweat lodges and low key intimate evenings with friends.
Abandon multitasking on any level.
overall prioritize regular sleep schedule.
Its relieving the clarity that rest gives us. It is beautiful and fruitful. It opens a window of awareness to what we need to work on for our highest good. In the quiet space of serene rest, we become aware of how to most authentically show up to the batting plate of life. If this is resonating with you I encourage you to lean into rest and explore the gifts of wisdom that comes with it to guide you into the season of bold mindful action.
