Slowing down before new beginnings.
As 2023 makes it’s way in, I’m witnessing a shift inside of me: I no longer feel the pressure to set big fancy goals as my New Year’s Resolutions.
In fact, this season is asking me to reflect on the small moments that add up to the whole.
The Gregorian Calendar tells us that the new year begins on January 1st. I never really questioned that until I started learning about the Native American wheel and the cycles of nature. For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, it doesn’t make sense to start a new cycle in the midsts of the dark, cold winter, when everything is dead and gone-asleep.
When I think of winter, it feels like the “in-between”, the liminal space.
It’s a time for integration, making space for the new, and giving our bodies some rest before the spring arrives with it’s full blown bloom.
Society is asking me to start over, yet my body is crying for rest and integration, and this time around, I’m not wronging myself for listening to my body (and the Earth’s) natural cycles.
Only YOU know what works for you.
Source: Pinterest
In many cultures, the new year doesn’t start until the Spring Equinox (March 21st), a time when everything begins to grow again. It makes natural sense to start a new cycle in unison with the Earth, doesn’t it?
So this time around, I’m choosing to honor my slowness.
In what ways do you find yourself rushing into new beginnings?
Which one of your projects is asking for a little bit more integration + refinement before birthing it to life?
We live in a fast-paced society where we’ve normalized fast food and fast cars, yet where are the roots in that?
Are we learning from our life’s cycles and lessons, or just rushing into the next thing?
2023 is about the slow, rich moments:
Projects that take months of dedication and focus before seeing the day of light
Sitting down and actually studying the topics I’m interested in (hello herbalism & flower essences!)
Weaving projects with my community that bring expansion + abundance to the whole
Relationships that are rooted in the kind of love that my heart knows is possible
I don’t want fast money and quick results. I want long, sustainable riches. Riches that are the result of the quality of my presence and dedication.
I no longer want to feel wrong for not rushing my way to the top.
I want to enjoy every single step of the way, smell every flower, write more poems, enter relationships with no expectations, not start “before I’m ready”, and welcome new beginnings from the subtle tenderness of the now.
Slow, steady beginnings lead to overall longer runs.
And that’s what I’m here for.
How about you? Does this resonate at all?
I’d love to hear what’s been shifting inside of you since the new year started.
Wishing you grace, blessings & presence.
Catalina
