Sometimes what we need isn’t another diversion. It’s not time to redecorate the house, buy a new thingamajig, try another diet, or take another class. Sometimes what we need is to just be. What we’re really looking for is an opening into the spacious and unstructured and that means we need less frantic, overbooked schedules. What’s calling is more expansive time to unwind, sitting with what is, and seeing what comes.
I think of it as mystical edginess, and this is exactly where I find myself as we begin to head into the long winter. The austerity of leafless trees and cold, barren land opens me up to the delicious idea of slowing down and taking a deep dive inside. So I am going on a little hiatus from my weekly routine that has been the structure underpinning the last six years of my life, this blog. I’m ready to take a deep breath, a long stretch, and dwell in the possibility of what might arise and maybe get lost, not knowing exactly where I’ll end up. Even though I love what I do it’s time to switch it up and plunge into something a little less familiar. Less doing, more being is the new mantra.
In all honesty I’m excited about pausing and seeing what transforms and what may emerge. And I am inviting you to do the same. All of us have too much to do and not enough time to do it, and usually what we want most ends up at the bottom of our list. It always seems to be one thing after the other and the truth is it will always be this way unless we begin to take a different approach. Where are the places you could give yourself a break or find more freedom to see what else is brewing within. Is there something different you want to say or do or be or a new way of seeing what is right in front of you? Now is the perfect time to explore the inner terrain.
Of course, there is never a complete stopping, we still have lives to live, dishes to do and laundry to fold, but a shake-up or slowdown in the everyday routines naturally starts to shift our world around. Let the should-dos wait a little while longer. Diving deep asks us to make more time to discover what really matters to us. This may entail afternoon naps, long walks in the woods, or uninterrupted time to putter and ponder.
The truth is I look forward to the long nights and cold days laced with greater stillness, it only helps the process of sinking deeper and seeing with new eyes. Slowing down and opening up is about waiting in the darkness for something new to sprout and sitting patiently in the silence for a new voice to be heard.
I want to thank you for coming along with me on this winding journey. There will be more to come, there always is. For now, come by and visit me at www.writingandritual.com to check out the new seeds that are beginning to stir in the dark.
In the meantime, enjoy your own deep dive.
kb
