Happy Monday my friend!
As we enter the final weeks of fall and blessedly of 2020, it's time to prepare ourselves for the darkness winter brings. As I was coming home from dinner last night, I noticed our neighborhood has already put up a strong showing of holiday lights. I smiled to myself and said a little prayer that light will be abundant in the coming days and most importantly, that I’ll remember to slow down and notice it.
The house is decorated. I finished my Christmas shopping last night. This thrills me to no end. I’m usually the person shopping just before Christmas, sitting in my bedroom floor on Christmas Eve wrapping presents, missing out on my kids, their excitement which in diminishes my Christmas spirit, makes me angry and resentful. I have decided to forgo the traditional Christmas dinner as well and do something different, something less time consuming so that I can enjoy Christmas morning with my littles and not-so-littles. If you have a non-traditional Christmas feast, I would love to hear about it as I’m in the gathering ideas stage right now.
Devotion. I already know this will be my word of the year for 2021 and I’m starting early. Devotion is a chance for me to fall in love with myself, my family, my life, my creativity again. It is a season committed to exploring and embracing my voice and the life I am creating for myself. The practice of celebrating the ordinary, the small things was a practice that served me well when life was slower and the kids were younger.* While I fully enjoy the season I’m in, I would like to find a better balance this year between work and kids and doing the things that feed me (journaling, movement, getting out in nature). I want to make more time to read in the coming year. I want to make more time to write again. I want to get my hands in the earth and grow something.
Have you started thinking about your word of the year for 2021 or how you want your 2021 to look?
* I still do use the #celebratingdailiness hashtag on IG when seeking the exalted in the ordinary. Feel free to use it too if this practice calls to you.
This week’s writing prompt:
In the dark days of winter, there is nothing better than grabbing a cup of tea and your journal, lighting a candle and cozying up to write and in so doing, to process and sort through your thoughts, to record moments worth remembering and savoring.
Write out your plans for the week. Set yourself up to step into your week with awareness and intention.
Write about what fills you with a sense of hope and joy.
Write about what you can do to make your life deeper and move deeper into alignment with what matters most to you.