I’ve got some amazing things planned for December. And some even more amazing things planned for all of 2018. And you’re gonna want to be present for it all. I most definitely want you to be present for it. More details on the stuff for the new year in a few weeks; today, I want to share with you what I have planned for December. And it’s all about being present.
Let’s face it. The holidays, December especially, can suck the joy right out of us. They can dig up + unearth feelings of depression, disappointment, and sadness. Blue Christmases are a real thing. And holiday stress is most definitely a real thing. We get all worked up about buying the perfect gifts + spending money. Attending all of the office parties + social functions. Making time to bake, decorate, and create some sense of perfection in the midst of feeling absolutely imperfect.
And just as we are wound up from the pressure of it all, we find ourselves deep in the heart of the darkest time of the year. And that means we have no energy, we just want to snuggle and sleep and rest. We just want to slow down + enjoy the holidays. And we just wanna say “fuck it” to that idea of a perfect holiday, because no matter hard we try, we cannot recreate the scenes of harmony and peace and beauty in the movies we watch.
But, you guys. We’ve done this to ourselves. The holidays are not meant to be stressful + annoying. December is not meant to be crazy busy + perfect. We have bought into the idea that something outside of us, namely traditions based on consumerism, status, and empty, fake promises, will bring us joy. And so we have spent December after December chasing after that elusive feeling of that one perfect holiday that we think we can re-create.
But, no more of that. Not for me at least. This year, like last, I am throwing myself fully in to the present moment.
What that means for me is that I choose to slow down, live in the present moment, and flow with the season around me. Embracing the energy, the darkness, and the beauty of this wintertime.
Over the past year or more, though I cannot put any kind of time frame on it actually, as it has simply been a slow evolving process, I have come to connect deeply with the changing of the seasons. It first began, perhaps, as I worked in the church, following the liturgical year of celebrating the holy seasons. It didn’t take much to understand how all of those holy days were actually all born from + connected to the natural seasons of the year. All reflecting some of the same wisdom + truth.
As I have been out of religious organizations for the past 4-5 years, I have had time to follow my own cycles of rituals + observations, based on religious, spiritual, and earthly traditions. It has been freeing and unorganized and a little choppy. Yet, I just went with it. And, as a result, I have discovered many different ways to celebrate throughout the year. And ways to celebrate the holidays. Ways to incorporate spirituality from many different places, and ways to find magic + meaning in those once-hurried + stressed days of December.
During this autumn, however, I have spent time in the dark, working on it all. Writing, planning, drawing, dreaming, creating. And, without even knowing what I was doing, I found the connection that my soul longed for. And, in that, I somehow created a way to express + experience my spirituality by following the seasons of the year.
I started by defining what I do as “finding magic + meaning in everyday life”. My little tagline for my newsletter. And, before I knew it, after many slow, quiet weekends, I worked out an entire year’s plan of how to flow with the seasons. How to find that magic + meaning from month to month. And how to live a life which unfolds sacred moment to sacred moment.
So, a year of flowing with the seasons is what I am offering next year. A course that will unfold through my newsletter + on this blog. And, in the end of 2018 year, will be published as a book.
But, I want to begin it all with this upcoming month… December.
However, before we can begin 2018 + before we begin practicing presence, learning to live in the present is the foundation which we need. It is where we need to begin. And the mood + vibes + energy of December are just perfect for that. In fact, I dare say that all of December is meant to be about presence. (Not presents).
It has taken me years + years to learn to live in the present moment as I do now; but, I can honestly say that living slowly, mindfully, and intentionally has become my priority + my way of life. Not that that means that I am done. That I’ve reached some guru status or something. Living in the present moment, living slowly + mindfully + intentionally is a lifelong journey. It is a way of life that, naturally flows with the seasons.
So, begin to prepare yourself for this new month beginning at the end of this week. Prepare yourself by deciding to slow down. Prepare yourself by committing to taking it one moment at a time. And prepare yourself to focus on how simply being present is the key to it all.
And then, please, if you are not already a subscriber, join my newsletter mail list. Every Sunday in December I will send you a week’s worth of info and inspiration to help you live in the presence of the moment. Together, we will soak in the solitude, stillness, and silence of this season so that we can begin to understand how to be fully present in our lives + in the lives of others.
I introduced my December theme is yesterday’s newsletter. So, if you want to know more about the upcoming month, then just sign up here and I will send it to you!
In the meantime, I invite you to consider what it means to you to live a life of presence. And, check back here… I’ll be sharing more as the days pass.
xoxo. liz.
