Post Script…I Love You Forever and Ever and Always!
I took a deep breath, and listened to the bray of my heart. -Sylvia Plath
Hello there sweet soul,
I do hope this letter finds you well and you aren’t too tapped out as the holiday season gets revved up. This time of year can be challenging. A feeling of being swallowed up comes to my mind. Shall we go ahead and take our collective breath here before getting going…
Ok…so if you are able, sorta straighten your body out, feet touching the floor, back a little more straight, chin tucked slightly. This helps your energy flow more freely. Just sit comfortably, so you feel nice and natural. Deep breath in and when you breathe out, don’t be afraid to make noise. Allow your voice to be heard, if you feel comfortable. Or just your breath. This louder type of breath is called ocean breath. Just let go.
Keep breathing like this for just a little while. Feel the tension dissipate, notice your body relax as you allow yourself this gift. Give yourself your own kind of inner hug.
Yummy, right?!
Something that has been a recurring theme, lately, in my life, has been the idea of mindfulness. It’s interesting in breaking down the phonetics of this word MIND and then FUL. I think this can be taken in two ways. Stopping to give grace to the fullness of what is held inside the computer located between our ears. As well as, stopping to really think and give consideration before becoming reactive in shared spaces. By thinking of yourself, it’s important self-care to give grace to your soul. I like to visualize myself giving my spirit soul a much needed hug. Then, we think of those in our immediate circle. Giving grace, love, understanding and compassion to them. This simple act can help ease resentments and tension, and foster more joy. Following up with doing the same to the greater community that surrounds you, and so on, the world…and then the universe.
It can and does take practice. We all are only human. We have different experiences in life that create patterns, comfortable patterns that we become attached to. But, by just noticing when we start to feel more tense and choosing to go back to the breath, we empower ourselves.
As we go through our own breath cycle, pay attention, to this very personal autonomic behavior. As you reach the end of the outward breath, you may find a small comfort in that delicate space just before taking a new breath in again. Be curious. Explore going towards this space as often as you feel you want.
There are so many things out there in this material world that bring us suffering as they are filtered through our inner egos. Sometimes the best causes of happiness can also be the greatest causes of our distress. It’s necessary and totally ok to take time to release what builds up. The best part is, it’s completely free.
Image: Canva
One tool that has brought immense healing to me has been my journaling practice. Something else, that is almost completely free. Aside from the cost of writing material, i.e. paper and pen.
This is something I have done off and on since I was a child. Complete with the altruistic, “Dear Diary,”…I guess I needed to see my life on the written page. Understanding that it really existed. I think I’d be nervous to even go back to read the jottings of my childhood. For a good laugh perhaps, I will, one day. For now they remain tucked away in a box in my basement.
A few years ago, 2020 actually, I set a goal to write everyday. I was dealing with the unbearable grief of having lost my older brother in 2018. I think I needed to feel that feeling that I sought as a child, that feeling of knowing I still existed here in this world. I had read a post by Liz Gilbert, talking about what her journaling practice looked like. And that was it. I was in love! She named her favorite journal and pen, actually. Leuchtturm Journals and Pentel Energel Pens. I, of course, set out to acquire the exact same, a sort of lucky charm trick, I guess. My world expanded as I hopped on this diary of a train ride.
Here’s a Bullet Journal style version of a Leuchtturm…
I was inspired. Off I went, adventurously, on my journaling journey. Thankfully, I kept going with only a few days off. We know what, then, came for us, ALL, as the year proceeded forward into 2020. I was grateful for reestablishing this practice when I did. And am happy to say I’ve continued to do so since then.
I’ve kept a yearly record, of sorts, via social media…on Instagram. A little yearly anchor, if you will.
Exploring so many journaling practices has been fun. Morning pages, points of gratitude, bullet journaling, mind maps, quarterly and monthly planning sessions, morning and nightly routines, meditation and yoga practice tracking, and most recently five things essay writing, taught by
. She writes a bi-annual series, here on Substack, called Essay Camp. She teaches all about the art of essay writing. Shedding away the mystery of ‘the how’ and ‘the why’ behind getting words down onto an actual page. It’s brilliant!!The possibilities are endless!!
Here are a few of my journaling scribbles for a little inspo…
So, there you have it, a few ideas to carry with you as we close out this year and head into the next. Whether you choose these ideas to try or go with something else, I do hope you find your own patch of calm moving through this next season.
As always, I made a gift for you, to help the process along…
I pray you find a few moments of peace winding down this year and perhaps some time to write out what may be weighing on your heart moving forward.
Wishing you ease and blessings as we approach this Winter Solstice (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere) and throughout this Holiday Season!!
I will leave you with one journal prompt to ponder:
What was one kind thing that you did for yourself regularly this last year? This last month? This last week?
Thank you for this graceful wisdom, MB. It landed exactly where I needed it today, particularly the part about abundant mindset.
Thank you MB- especially for the reminder to give grace love and compassion to those in our circle ⭕️... a part of me that was nursing a grudge needed to hear that today ❤️🩹