Finding Stillness

For today's Relish11 prompt (by me!)

Today I sit in a coffee shop, writing out this post long hand. I've carved out some breathing room in my schedule to sit and enjoy the treat of a chai tea amidst the hustle and bustle of last minute shopping. 

Alone time is something of high priority for me. I've learned that in order for me to recharge, solitude is best. These days I consider lighting a candle and sitting on the cushion for five minutes of stillness to be enough when my day is full. Taking five minutes to come back into my body and breathe is a pretty great thing when every inch of you is wound up. When I'm really feeling pushed, pulled and teetering on the dangerous edge of an emotional meltdown I draw a hot bath, fire up Pandora radio and soak in the stillness. Finding stillness, even in the smallest increments of time, on days when life is most chaotic is key for me. I'm never sorry I did.

What about you? How do you find stillness in your life?

In Words

 For today's Relish 11 Prompt.

“We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been — a place half-remembered and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free.”     ~Starhawk

These words called to me deeply when I first saw them not long ago. This paragraph pretty much summarizes the year of 2011 for me. While my word for the year was laughter, the word that led me there was tribe. Finding circles of women locally and globally I can connect with has helped me to grow in so many ways and is continuing to support me on my journey. To find community is the ultimate blessing. I am so honored to be a part of such a supportive and genuine blogging community, thank you all for being here.

Surprise

 
For today's Relish 11 Prompt.

I am positively sure I am a constant source of wonderment mixed with a little bit of confusion for those around me. But the person I surprised the most this year was myself. It is hard to choose one pivotal moment that stands out above the rest. Only a ladder of evolving steps in time. One step then another. One small shift in thinking then another. Some days I look back and think: "wow, if only I could visit my past self and show them what is to become." The look of disbelief on my face would be quite priceless.

So what is one moment that I look back upon with surprise about myself? That just last week I received my Reiki 1 attunement to start on the path of possibly becoming a Reiki practitioner. A healer? Me? That is quite a big one! Here I am though, doing it anyway. Even though my often dominant skeptical self still pipes up I am taking it all one day at a time. New thought patterns are emerging to fill the spaces of those that are fading away. Evolution and change are a beautiful thing.

Time Invested

For today's Relish 11 Prompt.

The past year has been one of tremendous inner searching for me. Digging deep. Rooting out the good and the not so good. Letting go of things and people that no longer serve me. Opening up to new possibilities. Oh there has been a fair amount of travel this year. Some of it even solo as I ventured to and from glorious women's retreats. But the biggest investment of my time this year has been on myself. Piles of books read. Journals filled. Dreams voiced. Hands stained with paint. The truth is that it takes nothing but time to invest in yourself. There is always time for self care, self love and self reflection. There is always a choice to be made on where to invest that time. It may seem selfish to direct a chunk of that to myself this year, but what good am I to others if I cannot take care of me?