How To Embrace The Winter Lull

It’s that time of year again when the excitement and hustle and bustle of the holidays has come and gone,

and the weather is more gray than not, too cold for most outside activity. That time when perhaps we don’t see friends and neighbors as often as the outdoors lends itself to keeping folks at home and inside and recovering from entertaining. And it’s that time of year where many people find themselves in anywhere from a quiet lull to a flat out rut. A lot of times after so much activity goes on we get used to a certain level of socialization and busy-ness, and when that goes away, as much as some of that busy-ness was stressful, so goes some of our spirit.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, the “lull” is just a signal that it’s time for a bit of an adjustment. Everything ebbs and flows; our relationships, our energy, our emotions, our work & businesses, our money, our social calendar, our lives. And that is alright, it is the natural order of things, energy flows sometimes in greater proportion than other times. And what can be helpful is to just be mindful of riding that tide with ease. Of not resisting the times for quietness and rest, but rather embracing them and giving our minds, bodies and spirits a time to rejuvenate.

As the line goes, to everything there is a season. And in deep wintertime there is a certain energy. And when that can be tapped into, we can let ourselves off the hook a bit from feeling like we have to be going, planning, producing, entertaining, etc, etc, for awhile and turn that lull or rut into a time of rest, reflection, and re-energizing. It’s a helpful lesson to learn that it is OK to rest, that resting is not lazy, and when there is a time for rest we best honor ourselves by recognizing it and allowing it rather than resisting it.

This time after the holidays is a great time for cuddling at home by fireplaces or under blankets with your loved ones. It’s a great time to write, or to tackle some of those indoor house projects you’ve been wanting to check off your list. It’s a great time to get quiet, listen to your inner self, meditate, sit in prayer, make plans for what’s to come in the spring. If we can harness the energy and the feeling of the season, and look at is as just that, we can view this time of the year as more of an embracing of the restful recharging. Mother nature gives us a gift this time of the year by encouraging us to stay in, be home, spend time with those we choose to and to take care of ourselves.

As everything is perception, this time of year will be what you perceive it to be. As you perceive so you will believe. So ask yourself, how do you want to look at it? How do you catch yourself describing January and February? Are you accustomed to bracing yourself for all of the "boredom" and quiet or can you get yourself in tune with a different way to view this time of year that can somehow serve your highest good? Remember, what you focus on expands, so what you tell yourself about this time of year and how you feel about it will be what you ultimately experience. May it be a beautiful and peaceful ebb for you, leaving you rested and ready for the flow to come. 

How Do You Recharge Your Battery?

The other day I walked over to my portable phone base to put the phone back in it when it needed to be charged. And it got me thinking about that whole concept of recharging. I bet if I asked you right now to write down the top 5 things you do to recharge your own battery you would struggle a bit. Perhaps the first thing that would come to your mind would be sleep. Sleep is our everyday occurrence of recharging our minds and bodies and is a necessity, but what do you do while you are awake to re-energize? What do you consciously choose to do in your daily routine to replenish YOU?

Ah there's the rub you say. You just don't have time to take out of your busy schedule to worry about recharging your own battery, right? But think about the "things" you recharge everyday; phones, iPads, cameras, whatever it may be, you recharge material objects so that they work at an optimum level for you. So why do your body, mind and spirit come in as "less than" for you in relation to some of these material things that need a break from working?

We all need a break. We all need to love ourselves and know that taking some time for ourselves EVERYDAY to renew our vim and vigor only serves to help us to operate as our very best selves. Think about how it feels at the end of the day when you have gone non stop all day and you are drained and exhausted. Does that really feel good for you? What if you took a few minutes of your lunch break to sit outside and meditate or simply do some relaxing deep breathing? Or if you are home all day with your kids why not take 10 here and there to just sit in your most comfortable chair and listen to some relaxing music?

The first step is to identify what works best for YOU in terms of a recharge. Think along the lines of how you can best rest your body for a few minutes, how you can quiet your mind for a brief period of time and what you can put into your spirit that will bring you some moments of love and joy. The fact is that we work better when we take the time to do this for ourselves because we can regroup, call our energy back into ourselves instead of spreading it too thin for the sake of other people. Just like you go get gas in your car when it's on E without a thought about it being the next logical step so should the importance be on knowing what fills you up to make you run better. Start by making your list of 5 things that help you to feel recharged and then commit to recognizing the importance of making the time to do them. And have an amazing day!