The other day, Winter sang me a song
As I lay on my couch, curtains open to reveal the snowy ponderosa forest in my backyard, She whispered to me.
Between coughing spells, I was able to hear Her.
I thought that I would share the insights received.
There’s a practice I teach. It stems from a realization about the non-linearity of life.
It stems from years of thinking that we have the power to push through anything and everything, only to find that we can’t!
Not only this, but when we move through life pushing forward with our own agendas, there’s a great harm that arises.
Plus, there’s a great amount of magic that is to be missed.
Sometimes I forget my own teachings.
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I entered into the year with an agenda of my own. This part isn’t the problem.
In all fairness, establishing our own goals, creating plans, and setting off forth with intentions of manifesting these desires is a wonderful part of this life.
But it is only part.
I find that we run into trouble not when we set goals, but when we cling to them tightly.
I entered into this year full of excitement to begin training for the trail running events of the New Year. I told myself I had rested enough from the last event. I told myself that, despite the cold and snow, I would find a way to train.
I pushed forward and…
I was brought down once again.
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There’s a part of me that is ever-determined to ward off illness.
Once upon a time, it was even my full mission in life. With the birth of Your Health, Reprogrammed, I set out to find, for my own self, the secrets to how we prevent illness and enable ourselves to live a long and healthy life.
I found many useful answers, and I will continue to learn and teach to these answers.
What I also uncovered is something that surprised me: a deep truth.
It is one that Mother Winter reminded me of.
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These days, whenever I fail to hold off illness and find myself forced to full days stuck up at home, I feel a tickle of shame.
I’ve failed. I’ve succumbed.
This day, Mother Winter whispered to me.
Sweet girl, you are a human being. And with it comes a full multitude of experiences.
There is a time to work.
There is a time to play.
And, there is a time to rest.
I don’t like to rest. I like to be out there:
Working.
Playing.
But when we don’t give ourselves the necessary time, Mother Nature steps in.
–
Winter
It is a gift to us overworking, overdoing humans to take a step back.
To let go.
To release.
To relax.
To be.
This is not my natural tendency. And, as a modern human being, I can guess that it is not yours either.
Still, we are indeed human, and just like the great Earth we live on, we have seasons.
–
I still have my own agenda. As I look to the the year ahead, I have big dreams. Big plans.
And I yearn to be able to step foot back into the forest, begin taking steps upward, and to fill my heart and test my legs with the thing I love most in life.
As for this day, Mother Winter came to me, and she handed me another clear signal that it is, indeed, not yet time.
My heart darkens. My eyes tear up. I feel my inner child stirring up a tantrum.
My lungs let out one more cough.
But with time, I find myself sinking into the gifts of the moment, and what I find is what is now here for you.
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There’s a practice I teach. It stems from a realization about the non-linearity of life.
It involves releasing all of the excess stuff that we, with the power of our minds, pile on ourselves.
From this space that we’ve created, we are now free to step into what is truly present in our lives in these moments.
And, even if the present is not what we would’ve desired (a choking cough that lasts for days, perhaps), we find that, if we are able to be truly present with what is, then we are free to cultivate the gifts of the moment.
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Winter
It’s a time that is often overlooked for the gifts that are available to us.
We want to warmer. We want the land to be more alive. We want to be more free to do those things we think we want most.
But what if we were able to better sink into all that is present right here, right now.
As for me, this initial unfolding of the New Year did not bring the snowy day adventures that I desired.
Instead, it has provided me with a LOT of time!
Time to rest
Time to focus on more nurturing habits
Time to ready myself for what is to come.