MY WISH FOR YOU THIS CHRISTMAS
Wow! It’s really here, it’s Christmas Eve! I’m like a child, giddy with excitement. We are spending our first Christmas at home in Washington. Dane and I spent time with my parents and sister in Napa the week before Christmas where we took part in my family’s holiday traditions. While I will miss being with my family on Christmas day this year, Dane and I are starting our own traditions in our own home. We cut down and decorated our tree and house the weekend after Thanksgiving, made hot toddy’s and watched Christmas movies. Our home, our family, our traditions.
I have a gift for you, dear reader. It’s not in a sparkly, wrapped box. (Though you can certainly imagine that it is!) It is the gift of mindfulness. I’ve created a small mindfulness practice for you that could help focus your intentions for the coming year. Please receive this gift with love and encouragement from me!
Find a comfortable space to sit. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Be still in the silence. Find calm. Then, take a moment to reflect on the past 12-months. What comes up for you? Do feelings of positivity, negativity, anxiousness, or excitement show up? Whatever you feel, just notice those thoughts. Try not to dwell on them.
Now, take another series of deep breaths. Try inhaling through your nose and audibly exhaling through your mouth. Empty out all the old air. Take as many rounds of breath as necessary to clear away any negative emotions that came up. Open your eyes. Shake everything off. Now, close your eyes again. This time, focus on what you aspire to create in the new decade by asking yourself the following questions:
WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO DO, ACCOMPLISH OR PURSUE?
WHAT ENERGIZES YOU AND BRINGS YOU GENUINE EXCITEMENT?
WHAT IS A DREAM THAT YOU HAVE YET TO ACHIEVE?
IF YOU COULD BE SUPPORTED IN ONE AREA, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
My friends, my wish for you in 2020 is for you to ask yourselves these questions with mindful intention at least once each week. This intentional practice is essential for self-care and introspection. There is so much we are bombarded with every day that isn’t of our own making, yet we get sucked in, conscious or unconsciously. By taking time each day/week to focus on your inner compass and intentionally feel into your deepest desires, dreams and aspirations, the magic will start to materialize. With that I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a memorable start to the new decade!