I’m going to ask you to try something.
Take a moment and stare into the flickering flames of the fire or a candle.
Let the light flicker and play and watch as it dances, in an endless rhythm of light.
Take a walk in the day.
Watch the frost on the dormant twigs, see how it shines in the sunlight, watch the lustre glistering in the moonlight.
Embrace the rapture of quiet, calm, reflective, winter.
Finally, having done these things, reflect on how you feel.
Winter is the time of reflection.
See the water frozen over, providing the perfect natural opportunity to witness yourself, as you truly are. No ripples to distort or interrupt, so in nature, everything is still and calm, including us.
Much of nature is in hibernation now; cosied up beneath a blanket of thick frost and frozen ground. Icy paths present us with an opportunity to glide, fleet footed. Dancing quietly with the beauty of this quiet, frozen time.
Remember you are part of the natural world, the seasons of the natural year echo and vibrate through you, calling us to rest, to reflect and to venture within.
Winter is the dream time, a time of short, short days and long, dark nights. A time to hibernate and let the dreaming body venture away. Now we can explore ideas without commitment, so, embrace the freedom to browse your future possibilities, with no intention to buy. No decisions are required just yet.
How often do you make your New Year resolutions on the stroke of midnight? Racing to get them fixed before the final chime has rung? Ready to fling yourself, all guns blazing into a brand new year, a brand new you.
But, wait, what of the ‘old’ you?
What of the wise you who learned so much during the previous year (and all the years before that) what of them?
Winter is the time to sit with yourself, to scrutinise and reflect, to ask yourself some intimate questions and allow yourself to hear the answers.
Winter is a time of gathering.
Gathering knowledge, insights, dreams, ideas and wisdom.
Gathering your self, assembling the pieces that make you and allowing them to gently combine into the person you will share with the world this year.
Like searching through a long forgotten chest to see what treasures are hidden there, before deciding the fate of the container, let us first explore what precious gifts it holds.
Winter is the season to explore the self, deeply and courageously.
It is the time to make peace with your fears, your insecurities, your frustrations and your creativity, time to explore – are you ready to try something new?.
It is the time to journey inward and connect with your inner direction, embrace your confidence, and courageously balance your cautious, careless, reckless aspects, taking ownership of all that IS you and creating resolution, within yourself, to carry you through the year ahead.
If recent years have taught us anything it is that it’s not plans and actions that see us through, it is courage. Courage in the face of uncertainty.
Use this time to embrace your courageous self.
Sit with it the brave part of you. Raise a glass to your inner courage, thank it, seek knowledge from it, above all, allow the courageous part of you to rest.
Your courage may feel depleted because of the exceptional year we experienced.
Winter is the time we replenish out depleted reserves, filling them until they are full.
Rest and reflection are the tools that enable this.
Allow yourself to play with ideas and dreams, who would you like to be this year?
Think of it as a game of dress-up. Experiment with different ideas of you. Mix and match until the person you wish to be emerges, just in time for Spring.
Come Spring you will have the energy, confidence and courage to burst into bud and blossom. What’s more, with your reserves refuelled, you have all the resources you need to achieve everything you dreamed of.
Happy New Year.
Claire
Claire Cutler-Casey is a professional Kinesiology Practitioner and instructor as well as delivering a variety of business and well-being workshops designed to help you successfully navigate the process of change.
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