Replenishing You
December is well upon us. I’m not exactly sure how that happened so quickly. In the northern hemisphere, it is the winter solstice; a time for releasing what no longer serves, developing healthier and loving relationships with our darkness, and planting seeds to grow into our future selves - our truer selves. For many of us, this season can be a time filled with additional responsibilities, indulgence, fatigue, complicated relationships, and a myriad of other things that kind of drown out the magic that can be available during this time, which can leave us depleted by the new year.
What if this year we choose something different? What if we create a new tradition for ourselves where we nourish and replenish our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits moving into the new year inspired and empowered?
We don’t have to wait for the new year to implement better habits and take care of ourselves. I know it can be tempting to just let it all go for a bit and think, “I’ll do better later”, but we don’t have to choose that path. We can do something different now. We can choose differently today, and our future selves will likely thank us for it.
I recently looked up the definition of the word replenish for an event I was facilitating, and one of the definitions really resonated with me: Replenish: to fill with inspiration and power. I can’t think of a better way to meet the new year than filled with inspiration and power. This year,
What if we focused on replenishing ourselves during this season?
What might that look, feel, and sound like?
What do you need to let go of that is no longer serving you to replenish yourself?
How might you need to think, speak, or feel differently?
Perhaps take some time to really lean into what you want the end of this year to be like, and what seeds you want to plant for your future self. Perhaps start with the future in mind, and imagine how your future self would want you to show up today and through the rest of the year. Imagine yourself replenished, inspired, and powerful. What might that look, feel, and sound like? Our daily choices and behaviors shape our future selves. Who do you want to choose to be?
Keep in mind, this isn’t an exercise to get tough on yourself and belittle yourself because you don’t feel like you’re showing up well for yourself. This is an exercise to meet yourself, especially your darkness, with loving-kindness, compassion, and empathy, and to meet yourself where you’re at. Wherever you are in your process is perfectly ok. Continue to connect with yourself with loving-kindness, care, and compassion, and eventually, you will see shifts in your choices and behaviors. It’s a process that required patience and diligence. Lean into your light, ask your future self and your truest self for guidance, open your heart, and choose to care for yourself.
Wherever you are, I wish you a loving holiday season and a replenished new year! You deserve it!