Fall is meant to be the wind down before the season of hibernation. When things really slow down energetically and we can cozy up inside and find rest. However, in our modern society of to-do lists and climbing the ladder to success, wherever that may lead, we’ve lost the rhythm of the seasons. We’re missing out on the process of slowing down.
Even as I look at my calendar now I can feel the tension build-up of all the to-do’s I’ve allocated for the week and month. Have I left any space for rest? Time to just be and not have to be doing for a while.
This last year, recovering from the whirlwind of a worldwide pandemic has brought a lot of introspection. Intention has been my focus word, one I come back to again and again. How am I going about this with intention? What’s the intention behind this action? Questioning everything has brought me to a new space, a place where almost every choice has thought and wisdom placed into it, and because of that, I feel more peace and calm in my daily life.
Slow Living
This coming back to intention has been an interesting new way of thinking. One that forces you to slow down, to give things up, and to make hard decisions. But in the end, I’ve noticed a significant difference in my day-to-day life. I tune in to my body and see if meeting up with another person feels right or causes me to be anxious. Does a hot bath and a book sound like a better plan of action instead of loading up my calendar? Then there are the tasks you can’t get rid of.
The meetings or projects that have to get done even though they make your stomach tie up in a knot. In those moments, when I have little control for change, I think back to what my intention for that task could be. Maybe it’s to be of service, maybe it’s to listen, and before going into that task I meditate or pray on that intention.
Self Care
We so often think that self-care looks like a big lavish experience. It’s going to get a massage or take a week off to travel. But self-care happens in a moment, repeated throughout the day, and week, and month, and year. Self-care is simply asking yourself the questions why? Why are you doing this? How can you do this in a way that will honor yourself? Or better yet, do you even need to do this? Then it’s listening for an answer that you have from within.
Self-care looks a whole lot like slowing down. It doesn’t mean not accomplishing your to-do list or building the sustainable business of your dreams. It’s simply going about it with more intention.
Fall is the season that reminds us that we need to slow down. The energy around us is changing, our desires are evolving, and if we have the space to listen to what we need, we might just find the calming we’ve been looking for. All it takes is slowing down enough to ask yourself why?
