May there be peace before us.
May there be peace beneath us.
May there be peace around us.
May there be peace within us.
I write each winter about how I feel pulled in two energetic directions at this time of year and those directions feel in opposition to one another: the inward call to descend, hibernate, reflect, renew, incubate, stew and brew up new magic, listen, wait, watch and feel, and the outer call to produce, perform, keep up, do, be, move, give, create.
This week, I saw that my own Past Self from about eight years ago had shared this quote and I’m taking it to heart:
“Focus is often a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do.” – John Carmack
At this time of year I recognize that I often feel a type of defeat, like I’m having to “give up” on the year, on the things I thought I was going to do, etc. and each and every year I have trouble with that point of surrender—with acknowledging what didn’t come to pass, what could not be, what has to wait, and what can be laid aside. After I struggle and wrestle and freak out and whirl and sometimes even weep over the things undone, the surrender moment comes and I realize: “Yep. Not happening,” and there is a relief or release to that moment of letting go. After that, I usually remember that the end of the year is in many ways an arbitrary and imaginary or self-imposed deadline and rather than rushing and scrambling to keep up, I can instead lay some things down and look forward to the bright sense of possibility that dawns with January.
How might you soften and surrender?
How might you lay some things aside?
How might you honor the undone and unfinished and let them rest?
How might you mindfully embrace the twin pulls of this season and let effort and ease join hands?
May you honor wise secrets
and silent mysteries.
May you trust the touch
of the sacred
in all things.
Some resources for Winter Magic are available to you here.