Some days, the noise outside gets loud. The pressure feels constant. Or maybe it’s the uncertainty. The bustle is non-stop. Even the things that bring delight take up space on a plate constantly threatening to overflow (if it hasn’t spilled over already).
These are the days where the barometer on inspiration and hope, maybe joy and fulfillment, feels low.
Perhaps we check off empty boxes and tell ourselves it’s going to feel just like it looks on our phone. Sparkly and cinematic. Except, deep down, we feel the dissonance. Between the real and the artificial. The gloss and the essence. The imagined, or the should, and the lived experience.
Our hearts and souls feel it too.
So, what do we do? We aren’t alone in this experience and it’s not entirely within our control. It’s very much the water we’re swimming in. We paddle faster and faster just to keep up. Often finding ourselves stuck in place. Swimming against the tide.
We go inward.
Which starts with making space to go inward. This might be the hardest part, particularly in the circumstances I just described. But, even if it’s just a small amount of space, space is magic.
And, (at least in the Northern Hemisphere as we approach the winter solstice) this season is the perfect complement and invitation. The days are shorter. It feels good to nestle in and get cozy. The trees are pulling inward too. Harnessing their energy and resources, letting go of what they need to, so they can move through the winter and thrive in spring, renewed and refreshed.
Just like the trees, we can nourish ourselves in this time so that we have the energy for all of the possibility in the year ahead.
Once we’ve made the space, we tune out the noise. We go inside and we reconnect with something bigger than ourselves. Something wiser and more essential than what we experience in our day-to-day. And we see what’s there for us. Without expectation. Without a to-do list. Without a soundbite or a catchy meme. Without all the shoulds.
We go inward and we arrive.
Or, at least, we find a clearer path. One of grounding. One of nourishing. One of recognizing and accepting the darkness. And, also, of knowing more light is on its way.
What does this look like in practice? Maybe it’s meditation. On your own or guided (there are lots of great apps – let me know if you need some inspiration!). Journaling. A walk in nature without content, distraction or agenda. Setting aside time for (or simply allowing) daydreaming – strategic or otherwise. Indulging in a Me-Treat.
There are lots of ways to go inward. And it doesn’t have to be an enormous undertaking. The most important thing is not how you do it. It’s that you do it.
*And if this speaks to you, invitation to carve out some intentional space on December 13th to put this into practice. In partnership with Anne V Mühlethaler and her social learning studio, Le Trente, as well as gifted healer, Kathy Harmon-Luber, I’ll be leading a virtual workshop crafted to help you go inward with intention – calling in a vision for how you want to close the year and welcome the next and savoring the calming support of a sound bath to meet it all feeling grounded and nourished.
Some Days | Grounding & Nourishing workshop with Libby Stockstill