Embrace and Embody
Literally and metaphorically
I’m embodying what the month of March feels like around here. It’s not a conscious decision, but it does take awareness to embrace the process and not push against it. I have days of energy and inspiration. There are chunks of time where I get things done and ideas are flowing. It feels inviting, like a bright, unseasonably warm day.
Then, in seemingly the next breath, I feel heavy and sluggish. I am paused for awhile, with a sense of longing and fatigue. It reminds me of a gray, cold day with a wintery mix of precipitation, where you want to move but your body and the earth ask you to stay put.
How very March! Early spring, with days of winter still visiting. Bird song abounds and snow flies in the same 24 hours. Bundling up in layers of clothing and then opening windows throughout the house in the course of the same week.
I expect it and accept it as spring, but I have a tendency to push against it in my life. I want to not only keep moving, but moving forward. Once the sun and warmth arrives, I want it to stay. I don’t want to pause with the cold and dark, but I’m learning to embrace the process and respect that I also have seasons, and seasons within seasons. How much better could we sit with the dark times, if we remembered they are just a part of the path. We didn’t necessarily make a wrong turn. It is simply a built in piece of the journey.
Logically, we know life isn’t a straight path. It has twists and turns, hills and valleys. It can loop, before moving forward again. It often seems like two steps forward, one step back. Then there are times we aren’t moving on the path at all. We feel stalled, stuck.
We’ve experienced it personally, but time and again, we still see it as a failure when our life isn’t moving forward. When something trips us up. We’re frustrated when it seems we’re repeating things: “Why this again? I thought I’d moved past this.” Other times there are pieces of our lives that seem to have been wasted, like we irreversibly chose the wrong option.
This happens on the health and wellness path too. You begin a fresh exercise routine, add a new breathing technique, start meditating, or add different types of food to your diet. It starts strong and then after a bit, your energy dips and your progress stops. You feel like time’s been wasted. It looks like you’re right back where you started.
But you’re not. You’ve learned more about yourself. You’ve discovered what you’d like to carry forward on the path and what you’ll be releasing for the next part of the journey. You’ve learned things you can share with others. You’ve deepened your connection to your inner wisdom.
Maybe the pause is simply to replenish your energy for the next step. Maybe it gives you time to heal, before continuing forward. Maybe that sense of moving backwards, is just a place where the path loops back on itself. You didn’t necessarily do anything wrong. This is just the path of life. It isn’t “all-or-nothing”, and honestly, what a relief! We don’t have to get everything right the first time. We don’t need to be in a constant state of pushing. Each pause, change, step, experiment, leads us to more wisdom and allows us to know and embrace our true self.
So, whether you’re currently paused on the path, or moving smoothly along, notice what this part of the journey is revealing to you. Look around and when needed take a deep slow breath, and give yourself a hug. You are doing your best. This is simply a step on the journey.
We are adding to our foundation and tapping into our inherent wisdom. You will continue to move and grow, but take time to embrace who and where you are right now. You’ve learned a lot. You are loved, loving, and loveable. Embody that.
What will you be embodying and embracing this month? Do you have a wellness practice you’re ready to get back to after a long winter? Do you have wisdom, you’ve learned on your path so far, that you’d like to share?
🌿 Please let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you! 🌿
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I’m embracing that I have time to pause. There’s no rush. When I take time to pause I hear my intuition guiding me and there’s so much more joy.
I’m embodying what I learn through yoga and Pilates. To tune into what my body is telling me. To see the pause as a time for integration of the work I’ve done so far. To move when it’s time to move and release tension I no longer need to hold.
Looking forward to reading your wisdom ✨💖