We had an interesting conversation on Saturday as we settled in for the morning.
More specifically on the topic of what ‘funerals’ should look like. Who are they actually for? It was an interesting conversation about transitions that we’ve become disconnected from in our culture.
I don’t tell anyone what the theme of the month is at Embracing Peace, because I prefer to listen to the voice and the feelings in the days before and see what comes up.
This is where I love synchronicities!
Last month whilst everyone was Back to School, pulling the jumpers and jackers out from under the bed, or planning what day we were going to hold out ‘til before we put the heating on, because it was still sunny.
What felt right to me wasn’t moving into autumn, it was holding on the light and warmth that we still had. For me, September isn’t Autumn; it’s the cooling of summer. But it’s still summer. I believe in holding on to that as much as possible.
October is the month of clocks going back an hour, and the darkness following it. It’s the cooling and the rain. Both of which still always seem to take me by surprise despite how many Octobers I’ve seen. How am I still not used to it?
And on Saturday the theme for the end of October was Thresholds: the perfect conversation happened before the retreat began, and the perfect theme had dropped in a few days before.
We start looking inward in the hopes of finding out our way of lighting and warming ourselves through the winter. Whether that’s inward in terms of our own internal thought, feelings, coping and resilience, or inward to making the home we have feel more comfortable and supportive, for some of us, it can make all the difference.
I know some folk have the same energy and motivation, regardless of the weather and the time of year. I envy them!
But for some of us, it pushes us to a quitter, more reflective place, and often one where we don’t quite feel ourselves for a while.
If that sounds like you, I have two offers to support your resilience and mood.
Throughout November I’m sending out 3 or 4 emails a week with ways to make November and the months beyond feel a little lighter, a little less oppressive – through real, practical things you can do to help you stay out of that funk a little more, to ways to comfort yourself and thoughts to remind you you’re not alone in thing the winter.
Sign up here by Sunday 1st November to get all of them, starting on Monday 2nd, or join any time to jump in where you land. There’s also be a thinking & writing prompt for those of you who like to do reflective practice too: https://www.lettingthelight.in/contact-newsletter
Or if 3 hours of genuine rest, reflection, silence and reflective writing sounds like something you need, the next one is either 21st or 28th November, depending when the hall is free. Sign up to hear when on the link above, and take a deeper look here: https://www.lettingthelight.in/retreat-new-forest
Feel free to message if you have questions yolanda@lettingthelight.in or 07812 593 966