advent

We need Advent. You know, that time of the year when folks begin counting down before Christmas, counting down for time off from work + school, counting down to the Winter Solstice, or simply…

Perhaps our first thought is that there isn’t a lot of magic + wonder this holiday season. I’m pretty sure that most of us are not celebrating the holidays in the ways we usually…

December nights are long. And I feel like I’m right in the middle of one dark, continuous night. And the only thing I can do is wait. As cozy as it is with the…

Oh lordy, time is moving fast. Happy 3rd Sunday in Advent, my friends. Can you believe it?! Next Sunday is Christmas Eve + then in two weeks we’re on the threshold of a whole new…

Darkness. Silence. Solitude. Stillness. Are these words that make you cringe, make you feel lonely, frightened, calm, inspired, unsure? What feelings do they evoke in your soul? Whatever it may be, it’s totally ok.…

It happened. I missed a day. I didn’t miss a day of creating time to be still + present, but I didn’t quite get a post here done. I’ll blame it on my staff…

I’m not quite ready to celebrate the coming of light in the dark, for right now, today, we are beginning the darkest days/week of the entire year. Up here in Sweden, in my city…

I’m a morning person. Not only do I have boundless energy + tons on creativity in the morning, I also cherish my early mornings. Those moments that I spend by myself, setting the tone…

I’m home alone. The cat is snuggled beside me. I’m wrapped up in a blanket. A couple of candles are lit. Christmas music is playing. And snow is falling down outside my window. I…

Good evening, dear souls. And happy 2nd Sunday in Advent as well. Y’all, I’ve had a really, really slow weekend. Like Lina + I didn’t go anywhere. We literally nested all weekend long. In…

It’s no secret that I love dark winter mornings. And, around here, since it is dark forever it seems, it’s easy to enjoy the mornings. Especially weekend mornings. Even if I wake late (And…

After my little wipe-out knee injury yesterday, I have been pretty much out of commission. I can walk + bend my knee now, but I’m keeping it up + iced for the most part.…

Thursdays mean the last day of the (outer) work week for me. It’s the last day of the week that I go to the school where I work as a mentor/coach for high school…

In Sweden, we call Wednesday “Little Saturday”. I’ve never really heard the reason, but I am assuming that it has something to do with the American version of “hump day”. It’s the middle of…

I suppose you may be wondering…how? How + what do I have planned for this month of being present + for this Advent calendar I am creating? And, most importantly, how do we really…

I almost seriously overslept this morning. You’d think that after a cozy, slow weekend at home, I’d be all rested up, but apparently I turned off my alarm at 5:40 and dropped back into…

Psst! It’s right here. On my blog. Holy shit. I just sent out my first newsletter for December + in it I committed to something that excites me + freaks me out all at…

In the end of November, with the beginning of the season of Advent, I re-invented my morning meditation time. Knowing that the darkness creeps in and takes over from November through December, I decided…

hello, my friends. well, december is here. and, oh how i love this month. not only for the holiday feelings, but for the darkness + coziness that it brings to us up here in…

this morning (monday morning), i did my last meditation in the dark. starting tomorrow, i will begin to light candles as i usually do when i meditate. the ritual of lighting a candle before…

well, now we are here. deep inside our caves. it’s the 4th sunday in advent, the last sunday in advent, and it is very, very dark. the past three sundays have been marking our…

in keeping with my unintentional musical theme this week, a song popped into my head this morning as i sat on my sofa. have a listen to what i am listening to… it is…

when it’s dark, there are no details. no exacts or specifics. everything is formless. and in that formlessness lies the possibility of creation. what may be formed… well, that, my friends is a mystery. it’s the…

f*uck it. let’s just do this already. things have been changing and crazy and tough and beautiful for the past 3 years. whatever was started during the holidays of 2012 is coming to a…

it’s 10:30 pm and i am barely gonna squeeze in this second sunday in advent’s post before the day is over. and even though i’m exhausted, i just couldn’t let this day end without doing…

hello, friends. and happy weekend to you! i apologize right off to all of my southern hemisphere readers if some of what i write does not quite jive with your experience of light and summer;…

i call it my advent cave. and, yes, i am going to hibernate in it for the next 4-5 weeks. sort of until the new year begins, i guess. in here, though, i will…

i’ve been preparing for the winter solstice for days, even weeks, anticipating it with excitement, thinking + pondering + feeling + reading all of the signs in my life. listening to my soul. observing…

” you need to know something about the darkness. don’t fight it. embrace it” – the geography of bliss but, i mean, the darkness is not fun. at all. and if it’s cold + dark,…

“darkness is a place of unknowing, and it may be a place of danger or it may be a place of divine revelation.” – barbara brown taylor look, i know that all of this…

oh these dark days of advent… they’ve got me all messed up in my head. i am someone who is always positive and i have a pretty good level of self confidence. but, recently, i…

i had every intention of writing this sometime monday morning. but, here it is, late monday night. i am sitting in near darkness, with only the soft glow of our red christmas star hanging…

right now, in the northern hemisphere, we are literally stuck in darkness. the days just keep getting shorter and shorter. the darkness is heavy + thick. and we are waiting. waiting for the light…

ok. i know it’s a crazy time of year. all of us are super busy & overwhelmed with things that must be done. but don’t let that pressure of the season sneak into your…

snowstorm + coffee +christmas music + reading + writing +candles sending out a cozy, wintry, monday morning greeting from snowy sweden to all of you, all over the world. peace.…

  it’s the second sunday of advent. the sunday of love. the first week of advent has flown by & i have been pretty faithful to finding some quiet time by myself every day.…

it’s saturday night. i’ve got blankets piled up on me because it’s about 1 degree (fahrenheit) outside tonight. there’s a christmas movie starting on tv right now. and i’m settling down after a day…

last night lina & i sat at our dinner table at home. it was a regular dinner on a regular thursday. but, something fabulous happened. we had some candles lit on the table with…

rocks. stones. pebbles. boulders. today, for me, they symbolize the things that stand in our way. for me, advent & christmas is the time  of year when i remember that it doesn’t have to…

about 6 years ago i was in anchorage, alaska. i stood in line at a starbucks in a barnes & noble, waiting to order my latte, killing time before heading to the airport to…

the snow has been falling all day & night. the air is extremely cold. and here i am, clicking away on my computer, sipping wine, & munching on cheese doodles (cause that’s how i…

i’m a sucker for those seasons right before a big holiday. like advent – the days/weeks before christmas. and lent – the days/weeks before easter. these are seasons that we contemplative-types love. a reason…

friday. saturday. sunday. first weekend in december… check. cooking. baking. snow. the theater. family visitors. friends. open house. thanksgiving. more snow. christmas market. church. work. advent. christmas market. thanksgiving again. candles. sunday night collapse on…

good morning! it’s annandagen here in sweden… which literally means “the other day of christmas”! yep. we have christmas eve, christmas day, and an extra day too here! it’s kinda like having an official…

oh my gosh. what a weekend. it was that obligatory “cram as many christmas-y things into one weekend as you can” weekend. and i am exhausted. i cannot wait until i have a few…

in the mornings, especially during this time of year, i try to spend some time alone.  ok. zola usually follows along, as you can see. hehe. it takes a long time for the sun…

after my last little post of frustration, things settled down (= i gave up on trying to retype or salvage my original post) & it turned out to be quite a great weekend. and…

i’m still in the middle of my little personal retreat. i’m not quite ready to share what i’ve read from joseph campbell (the guy i referred to in yesterday’s post). i’m still soaking it…