For those in the Northern Hemisphere, we are entering a tunnel of bizarre dissonance.
Nature is beckoning you inward toward quiet contemplation, stillness and rest. The weather and the diurnal rhythms support this time of incredible potential (more on the powerful opportunities that winter stillness provides in an upcoming newsletter) AND the darkness CAN be intense, especially if you’re susceptible to Seasonal Affective Disorder or struggle with grief and loneliness.
Once upon a time culture created simple, sweet opportunities (Yule, Christmas, Hanukkah…) to lighten the seasonal darkness. AND culture has “evolved” so that these “opportunities” are more voluminous, complicated, and outwardly dissonant from nature.
This time of year I see people landing within of a spectrum as shown in the image above.
It can be uncomfortable to exist at the ends of the bell curve and it can be just as challenging to stay in the middle path. I postulate that your body will feel better, your mind will feel stronger, at the end of *all this* confusion and dissonance if you can hang in the middle of the curve.
For some of you, it might be pushing out of your comfort zone, for example, going to a party when you might otherwise isolate. For some of you, it’s scaling back on purchases even though you desperately want to give that *just right* gift.
As you continue through the holiday season, consider the following phrases as guiding talismans for staying in the middle: intention, energy management, awareness, boundaries, difficult decisions, self-compassion, vulnerability, harm reduction, curiosity, taking pauses, gentleness and humor (by all means humor).
AND if you feel like you could use some extra support, shifting out of a resistant, yin, damp, depressed experience, I invite you to schedule a series of winter acupuncture sessions. Do you want to schedule a 15-minute consultation to discuss? You can do that opens in a new window::HERE::
