My mantra for this new year is Just Be ~ and for the first time in my entire life, at 46 years old, I have truly learned to Just Be. It has been a soul searching journey to say the least and I’m not going to lie and say it’s not an easy place to get. It takes work. Through daily meditations, reading, journaling, mindful movement, mindful living, in nature, listening to my body, nourishing my body with good food, shifting energies, detoxifying and learning how to be quiet is how I got here.
It’s in The Spaces in Between where you can Just Be. It is in that space where you can hear yourself, find the answers you have always had in your soul and where you can see the glimmers. The glimmers are always there, just like the answers. But, it takes a little work to get to that space. Some of you may already be there and that’s wonderful! Some of you may be saying, I have been trying, but I’m not quite there and for some, this might be new.
If you’re quiet enough, you can hear yourself.
The start of this year was slow and steady for me, unlike any other year in my life. I like to hit the ground running with lists and goals galore. But this year, the pull was in a different direction. Hear yourself first, slow and steady wins the race Andy (coming from a former sprinter I might add). But, the race of life is not a sprint my friends. So, I listened and I took the time to Just Be, I shifted my energies where they needed shifting, in my mind and in my space. I started planting seeds and when I took a step back, I noticed that there were things that still needed to be done before I could hit the ground running. So, my list became those things which may seem small and insignificant to some, but to me, I know I cannot skip the stepping stones or there will be holes.
And I believe this wholeheartedly, “The right doors won’t open for you until you are the version of yourself that’s supposed to walk through them.” (Spirit Daughter)
Sharing some of the beautiful magical glimmers from my January that I found In The Spaces in Between~
Mindful Movement ~ listening to my body when I needed a run, when I needed Pilates, when I just needed a walk in the fresh air and sunshine with my sweet doggie. For me, it is in movement where I find the calm. It has always been my therapy. It is where I learned to connect the mind and the body. And what do you know, as the month went on and I listened to what my body needed instead of trying to force things, my pace started to pick up. A glimmer of some faster miles due to listening to my body and lightening the load, an even bigger connection between my mind and body in my Pilates practice. It’s here where I started taking my power back and arrived a grounded woman with a peaceful heart.
Yellow Tulips ~ a little glimmer of happiness on my counter. Always a yes! Buy yourself your favorite flowers and smile every time you look at them.
Gluten Free Lemon Olive Oil Cake ~ yep a total glimmer from January. I decided to bake myself a cake. To celebrate me and everything I have done to get here to this point in my life. And the cake I settled on was a gluten free, lemon olive oil cake dusted with powdered sugar.
My breath pattern ~ a little glimmer of the calm in my life. For so long in my classes, I have said “take in what you need” with that inhale and “exhale what you don’t need” and take a breath for at least 4 counts. But, I couldn’t get past that 4 count. Not without restriction. But, now I can easily take an 8 count inhale and exhale without restriction.
High Tea ~ after a recent trip to London with girls and my mom, I decided to install high tea into my day. What a lovely little concept to take a break around 3:00 when typically for me, my whole life, this was a part of my day where I was a little tired, but had to rally. I had to rally for practice when I was a runner, I had to rally to find the energy for my kids when they were little after school, rally to figure out dinner, to be a chauffeur, etc. etc. So, now, I have my high tea at that time, take a little break, find the strength. For me, it might be a matcha, might be a little cup I make at home, maybe it’s a chai that day. But, you can do this too! I don’t have to rally for practice anymore or to gear up to help with homework, run kids all over the place or ref wall ball in my driveway. But no matter what stage of life you are in, high tea can be a little energy shifter in your day and it was a simple little glimmer in my month.
The Sun ~ glorious sun! This January in the Pacific Northwest, we got a treat ~ the sun. Not just one day of sun, days and days of glorious sunshine! It came, it stayed. I let it warm my face. And it took me out of a cold place I was in and brought me to the warmth again.
The Sky ~ a glimmer that will forever remind me and connect me to my Gram~ my person, her wisdom, her balance, her way of life leading and guiding me. A beautiful painted sky. My phone is full of sky photos from this month. Glimmers of pure JOY!
I started collecting my glimmers in a “Happy Jar” for this year. I write down all the little glimmers from my day and put them in a cute little green jar I found in my Hutch. I actually started a list on my phone because I’m currently out of town so when I go home, I can add the glimmers from Boston to my Happy Jar. You can do this too ~ it’s not too late. Start a Happy Jar and collect your glimmers because the more you start paying attention, the more you will be able to see.