Off the Hook for the Holidays
This week, I'm letting myself off the hook. I don't know about you but I've been struggling to get through my to-do lists and have dropped a few balls lately (including the blog post that was due five days ago), and I'm letting that be OK. While I wish I had a well-thought-out reflection to share with you, the best I can do for today is to borrow someone else's words. Here's a quote that's been speaking to me, from the book Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home:
Cherish the opportunity to sink into the eternal, which is available to be bathed in at any given moment.
- Toko-pa Turner
I've been so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holiday season (yes, already!) that my sense of presence has been lacking and this has been weighing me down. It's as if my body is begging me to give into gravity and just be still for five minutes (without bingeing on TV, food, compulsive list-making or e-mail checking).
Fortunately, I've had a few small windows where time stood still and I relaxed into the pocket of the moment, however briefly: Enjoying the soft, squishy feel of shortbread dough through my fingers. Listening to Jewel's holiday album and letting her voice penetrate through my armour of numbness to the emotions flowing below. Sinking into my yoga mat for a good long savasana after a warming practice. Feeling the sunlight on my face during a walk with a friend.
My wish for you this week (and this holiday season) is to seek out those moments, wherever they're available to you. And if you've not lived up to your own expectations in any way lately, I hope you can let that be OK too.
On that note, this will be my last "scheduled" (though late) post for the year. Warmest wishes to you and I'll see you in 2023!
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Apparently I needed self-care reminders around this same time last year, when I wrote this post: Self-Care Is Not a Transaction (& Other Reminders) How do you encourage yourself to take time for self-care around the holidays?