Welcome to the holiday season and the beginning of winter.  In nature winter is a time of rest, a time of hibernation.  And yet with the festivities of Christmas and Hanukah around the corner, we are also being drawn out into shopping, the busyness of preparations and attending family and community gatherings.  So how do we reconcile these two very different energies.  One of the ways is to take time to connect with yourself and honour your own knowingness about what may be true for you this holiday season.  There is a way to enjoy the family and friends you choose to be surrounded with and also take time to nourish and replenish yourself.

One of the easiest ways to connect to yourself is to just take a moment to slow down, connect with your breath and relax into your body and your heart.  From this place consider some of the ways you can take care of yourself and wellbeing so you have more ease and joy during this time.

Happy holidays everyone and look forward to connecting with you in the New Year.

As always, much love,

Vivianne

This morning I looked out into my garden as the recent snowfall has melted, revealing that some of the vestiges of fall are still around.   The trees that provide such beauty and shade in the spring, summer months have mostly lost their leaves.  I have watched them for many years now shedding their leaves each year with such elegance and grace.  Although I am aware of the sadness I feel when it comes to saying goodbye to the leaves, I am equally amazed to observe how much beauty remains in the images of their strong naked branches.  It’s as if I can see the essence of these trees so much more clearly without their leaves getting in the way.  When they are in full bloom they all come together in an impressive canopy beneath the sky.  Without the leaves I can better see their strength, their character.  I appreciate their rootedness as they bore their way deep into the earth and the immense power they exude as they reach ever more upwards towards the sky.  I find myself content that they get a chance to rest.   Knowing that they need to renew and nourish themselves too.

Amidst all the nakedness of my garden, in the corner of my eye, I see one small tree with all its leaves.  Seemingly facing happily towards the sun, this tree has found a way to keep shining brightly and be the last one to go without all the larger trees hiding its sunlight.  I smile to myself as I glance at my list of things I have planned to let go of this fall.  Some have already left my home while others are on their way out.  An old china set, some books and clothes, ready to be taken to charities and finding new homes.  Parts of an old computer on its way to being recycled.

As we get ready to enter the festive season and celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another, we might want to take a moment to feel into what has been let go of already and where we are still shedding.  Some of these may be material things, some may be old ways of thinking or behaviours that no longer serve.  I realise that eventually that little tree will lose its leaves and another kind of beauty will be revealed.  I learn many things from nature, maybe this one resonates with you too.

As always, much love,

Vivianne