These Sacred Days

Hello you with the gentle spirit in a hard world. How about if this year you hold some sacred space for yourself? How about if this year you vow to carve out time to rest, to feed your spirit, to replenish your soul?

Hello you who is a caregiver, a friend, a manager, a business owner, a planner, a volunteer, a parent, an employee, a person who gives so much to those around you. How about if this year you start giving a little bit of that energy back to yourself so that you can serve those around you with a glad spirit rather than maybe feeling resentful and stressed?

 

How about if this year you make space in your life for a sacred day or afternoon or hour? 

What if you got up a little early or stayed up a little late? What if you told the people in your house and life, that on Sunday afternoon you will be doing something just for you? Or if your life allows it, what if you join me on Wednesdays, or chose Fridays or every 3rd Tuesday, to do whatever it is that makes your soul take flight? When you do it doesn't matter. That you do it, makes all the difference.

What if today you promised to take better care of yourself by doing what makes you happy? That is your job and nobody else’s. What if you stopped waiting for someone else to do it?

What if you did this very small, but not small at all thing for yourself?

Start where you are and do what you can according to the stage of life you are in right now. Spend your time guilt free doing something creative or practicing yoga, napping, writing, reading or staring out a window, daydreaming, baking bread, meditating or tending your garden...anything you want to do for the sheer sake of enjoyment and not because it needs to be done.

What if you create a space for yourself that feels special whether it's a room, a desk, a cozy chair or a basket full of things that delight you?

Instead of listing all the reasons you can’t, why not list all the reasons you should fortify your spirit in difficult times? This is not a selfish endeavor. This is doing the important work of nurturing your soul. 

Dear you with the weary spirit and the endless to do lists that will never go away and never be finished, what if this year you created a practice that could change the way you view your life? 

I hope you will. I started this practice more than 7 years ago and it has been life changing for me. It has given me comfort and peace during cancer, covid, renovations, loss and any number of very hard moments in my life. It has been the thing I look forward to every week for so long that I cannot imagine my time without it. It has deepened my creativity, gratitude and joy. I guard it fiercely and everyone around me knows that I am unavailable on my Sacred Day. I found that when I started taking myself seriously and respecting my time and energy, those around me followed suit. It has quite literally changed my life. 

I plan to come back later in the week with a bit of a recap of the last 8 months but I need to muster the energy (it has been an exhausting year both mentally and physically) and I am still firmly planted in the hush of the post Christmas season where my days consist of the bare minimum of homekeeping, lots of making, reading, movie watching and pretending I'm going to make dinner only to choose leftovers or takeout instead 50% of the time. Happiest New Year! May this year be kind and gentle to all of us.