It continues to be a time of beginnings, endings, and holding space for the unknown, reminding us all that the present moment is all we have. Everyone I know seems to have big shifts happening in one way or another and we are all about to shift into the season of Summer. These shifts can be overwhelming and they can be opportunities for us to intentional engage in our practice. Practice noticing our habitual responses, trying something different, and observing what happens when we do. With so much change energy in the universe, it is the perfect time to try something different and let go of the reflexive responses that no longer serve us.

Yesterday was a Gemini New Moon bringing in the energy of love and compassion. We can use this energy to reflect on our relationships with both ourselves and others. How are we speaking to ourselves and our loved ones? Are we responding from a place of love or fear? Are we in the present moment or re-experiencing past pain? Exploring these questions with curiosity and gentleness can help us to see our patterns and make conscious decisions to change them if we desire. As humans we grow, change, and evolve throughout our lifetimes and our relationships must do so as well.

It is definitely beginning to feel like summer with the temperature rising and school getting out. I love summer so much that I can sometimes get so caught up in its brevity that I miss enjoying its wonders. This week I have been practicing non-attachment for many reasons and have found reminder lessons in the beauty nature offers.

For the last year I have been preparing for tomorrow, my last day as a full time employee of Aurora Public Schools. Retiring after 30 years is a big decision and one I am so grateful I made. I have had a wonderful career working with amazing students, families, and staff. My work has helped me to grow in ways I could have never imagined in 1994 and I appreciate all the joys and challenges that have brought me to this moment. While I have a long list of things I want to do, I am realizing that I truly need to let myself rest deeply this summer and beyond. I have written often this year of rest and restoration and how essential it is to our well-being. I plan to create space not only for me to rest, but also for all of you to join me in restful, healing opportunities. Stay tuned!

I have addressed the topic of equanimity a number of times this year and it continues to be front and center in my life as I navigate the joys and challenges of human existence. Many of us turn to dark humor in difficult times to manage the stress of situations we have no control over. This week I found myself laughing uncontrollably during a conversation that was truly tragic as a way to manage the difficulty. I’d made a horrible pun that made us laugh and found that holding the hilarity of the pun with the pain of the tragedy made it bearable in the moment. So much of life is both difficult and wonderful all at the same time. Learning to embrace all of it and do our best to ride the wild waves along the way is a gift we can give ourselves.

The concept we practice in Mindful Self-Compassion called savoring has been on my mind a lot this week. Savoring the beginnings that spring offers with its budding flowers, unfurling trees, and chirping birds along side the endings of the school year, graduations, careers, and even lives. All provide the opportunity to rest in the moment, hold it gently, then let it go. It is not always an easy practice, but it is most definitely a worthwhile one.

Last night I had honor of attending a retirement dinner to celebrate my 30 years with Aurora Public Schools as a school social worker. As I look back at the beginning of my career I could have never imagined all of the opportunities (and obstacles) I would encounter, nor the relationships, knowledge, and skills I would gain. Along the way there were many times I explored other options due to frustration, burnout, and feeling stuck. Each time I found myself in that position a new possibility opened up creating just enough of change to help me see a new path. Sometimes I was a willing participant in the change and sometimes I went kicking and screaming, but each and every time the changes allowed me to grow personally and professionally.

Spring is a time of change and represents new opportunities and growth. It is a wonderful time to let ourselves dream about what we want next in our lives and to begin taking steps toward bringing it to fruition. When we’re feeling overwhelmed or stuck, our vision becomes narrow and our choices and opportunities can seem limited. Envisioning what might be can help us to get unstuck, releasing feelings of stagnation, frustration, or disillusionment. 

It has been a reflective week of allowing things to be as they are and practicing non-attachment. I think the brief moments of Monday’s eclipse are a great metaphor for this. We often want a moment or an experience to last longer and we focus our attention on clinging to it or lamenting its eventual passing, rather than on experiencing the moment as it is. But as the eclipse teaches us, the world literally keeps turning and one moment moves onto the next.

This week we continue to reside in the liminal space between eclipses, Mercury going retrograde, and the coming Aries Full Moon Eclipse on Monday. It is an intuitive, reflective time that can allow us to listen to our inner wisdom and open to what the universe has to offer. You can read more about these astrological influences at Forever Conscious and The Power Path.

As we process the energy of this week’s new moon and lunar eclipse, we may still be feeling a bit unsettled. Allowing ourselves the opportunity to hold the space rather than needing to understand it all and take action can be challenging. It is a good opportunity to practice equanimity, which I feel has been a theme for me over the past month.

This week we are faced with yet another incident of mass violence in the midst of multiple anniversaries of the same and the ongoing violence impacting millions of people around the world. It can be overwhelming to process and hold all of this suffering in our hearts and minds. The the practice of equanimity can offer us a supportive path in navigating the difficult emotions that arise from witnessing the suffering of others. Equanimity allows us to hold space for the suffering and pain of others without taking it on as our own; to offer what we are able (compassion, energy, advocacy, action) while letting go of expectations of its results. It allows us to stay present and connected to our own experience and open to being compassionate towards the pain of those both experiencing and perpetrating harm. With practice we can stay open to what arises, release our habitual reactions of grasping or avoiding, and respond thoughtfully from a place of compassion. If you’d like to explore the practice, this recording of Compassion with Equanimity by Chris Germer is a lovely place to begin.

Hello Friends~

February 1-2 is Imbolc and St. Brigid’s Day in the Celtic tradition honoring the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. We’ve reached the point in winter where we can really feel the lengthening of the days and enjoy those extra bits of sunlight in the late afternoon. This growing light reminds me of the Maori saying, “Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” We can all get mired down in the gloom of winter’s dark, cold days, yet turning toward the light can give us hope. It might be physical light such as the sun or twinkle lights in our homes or it may be the light within ourselves and others that provides illumination allowing us to feel the promise of the coming spring.

If you’ve been feeling some intense emotions today (or the last few days) it might be related to today’s Leo Full Moon. It is the first full moon of the new year and is full of heart expanding energy. Manifesting our joy and clearing out things that block it are both supported through this Wolf Moon. To read more and explore full moon rituals you can check out Forever Conscious and The Power Path. Saturday’s Full Moon Sound Bath will be a wonderful opportunity to care for yourself, release what is no longer needed, and soak in this powerful energy. Both in-person and virtual options are available.

As we begin the new year we are often encouraged to set new goals and resolutions. However, I have come to understand that winter is a time to nurture and nourish ourselves, listening to the wisdom of our bodies and the whispers of our intuition. Slowing down allows the seeds within us to develop and germinate so they are ready to sprout in the spring. If resolutions are important to you, I encourage you to resolve to follow the rhythms of the season and your body, preparing your heart, mind, and body for the energy you’ll want to burst forth in the spring.

Today is a New Moon in Capricorn and is the first new moon of the year. The grounding energy of Capricorn can support us in setting intentions for the future. Taking some time to reflect or meditate on our next steps and write them down is a lovely way to send that manifesting energy into the world.

Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which can be a time to celebrate and reflect on the movement he led as well as how we are carrying his work forward in our lives. Are we calling out injustice? Are we standing up with and for others? Are we being of service? As individuals we don’t have the ability to change the world alone, but we can make changes within ourselves and do the good, the acts of service, that are right in front of us.

The final week of the year brings many best of and greatest moment lists. Looking back at our own year can be a way to acknowledge both our achievements and the challenges we have weathered. In the midst of our day to day lives it is easy to lose sight of the growth we have made as human beings. The connections we’ve made, opportunities we created and/or took, times we were vulnerable, times we were fierce, times we were loved, times we were lonely. All of these moments make up who we are and how we show up in the world. I encourage you to honor your journey over this past year with gratitude for yourself and all who have traversed this journey with you. While we are all individuals, we need each other because none of us journey alone. As Ram Dass says, “We are all just walking each other home.”

Happy Winter Solstice!! Today marks the shortest day of the year, the shift into winter, and also the beginning of each day growing a little longer and lighter. Sometimes winter’s brutal cold prevents us from recognizing this growing light and the hope it can bring. It brings to mind the quote from Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, “There is always light. If only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave enough to be it.” In these challenging times affirming the light in ourselves and in the world is both an act of resistance and one of self-care. As we honor this shift in the season today, take time to reflect on how you can offer yourself opportunities this winter to nourish your emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing; to tend to your own inner light. It is essential to also identify the support you need from your community and how together we can support each other’s light as beacons for ourselves and others.

Thank you to those of you who completed the Wellness Opportunities Interest Survey If you haven’t had a chance yet, please take a few minutes to fill it out. Your input is essential assisting me in creating offerings that meet your needs as we move into the new year.

This morning the sunrise painted the sky so beautifully it stopped me in my tracks. As I paused to witness the moment, it was like a balm to my heart. I was reminded of the power a moment of awe and beauty can have at returning us to body, our breath, and the present moment. I invite you to seek out moments of awe in your day and give yourself permission to pause and take them in, then notice how you feel.