I find it hysterically funny that my last entry was such a clear comment on time management....... & how many weeks have passed since I wrote?? It's been mad is all I have to offer. Which brings me to today's sensational comment!
Did you know that at this time of year, not necessarily by callendar month, we humans are as prone to hibernation as our furry friends of the nut-hoarding variety?
Ever wondered why it is that you either slow down or speed up towards Christmas? Depending on whether or not you are excited about the party season, time off work or studying, eating & drinking to your heart's content, or, to the other extreme dreading time alone, the expense, the hard graft cooking for the four thousand relatives & friends you only remember you have as December draws to its conclusion....... either way your body & mind will undoubtedly respond to your inner state.
Some very good & wonderful friends of mine have today embarked upon what they (& I hope for them) will be the holiday of a lifetime. What are they doing that is so potentially adventurous? Taking January & the first part of February off!! For 5 blissful weeks they will be answerable to no one but themselves & the hotel feeding them. Imagine that?
Imagine that. For a second, sit back & imagine.......... nothing to do for over a month............
...................Feel good?
It's BOUND to!!!
For most people, normal people if ever we could describe any of us as such, it feels pretty good. To be able to let go of everything January may usually bring, let's think, the cold, the wet, the cold, catching up on all the letters/cards/correspondence omitted or neglected before December 25th, spring cleaning after the mess of decorations & dirty scuff marks left behind on walls & floors after the barage of abuse from visitors..... or just because you couldn't cope with cleaning the bathroom on top of everything else you also had no interest in doing (!) oh & did we mention the cold & the wet & the disappointment of no snow to at least look pretty for a while & make the cold seem a little more worth while......... See? What picture is this before us?? What heaven would we miss out on for a few weeks in the sun? Have we yet brought to mind the hellish mood in the work places around the World carrying the fetid atmosphere of near-excitement that let us down, near-complete-happiness-for-almost-two-whole-minutes, hefty with disappointment & it's partner in crime THE REALSIATION THAT NOTHING HAS CHANGED!
Oh dear. Won't do will it. Do you think we have a sense of the impending anti-climax, the weight of unrealised dreams before the Christmas break proper even begins? My money bets yes. I think we do. More power to my friends & anyone else with the good sense to reach out for themselves to truly give the best present ever, recovery time. Not just from Christmas & New Year but recovery from the entire preceding year! Change of scene, change of heart, change change change all the way. Cut some slack & if not actually going to sleep for a long period of time, simply exploring the nothing that allows freedom to explore our existence a little more.
They're both writers my friends. Both extremely creatively talented. Both tied to the humdrum of life getting in the way & preventing them from living their hearts' desire. One of them has had a heart attack. Warning enough. Five weeks lifted out of themselves & into a dreamland to who knows where..............
Can you imagine how their writing will be informed by their experience? Can you imagine allowing your creative energies to simply flow any which way they come? We all have creative energies whether you do indeed write or paint or sculpt or feel you have no connection with the above, you are as a human inherently creative. You have thoughts don't you?
Of course they have no idea how changed they may become, but the certainty is that they will be. How much will be partly choice & partly divine intervention, should you hold with such dynamics. I do. Anything could happen while they're away. Anything. Got that? A-N-Y-THING!
For me the start of a new year has brought with it the excitement & anticipation of my business projects meeting me coming at them at a pace. You see, I've already taken my break to recouperate, consolidate & 'rennovate'. A whole new me has emerged after 11 days with my beloved, just the two of us, a few friends here & there, no demands upon us except those we chose to make of ourselves. For anyone interested this involved lots of fresh air & exercise in the hills around our home, too much good food but oh so much quiet. Bliss. Having spent the last seven years spinning between here, there & everywhere (not only at this end of each year I might add!) we had made the choice not to travel at Christmas or New Year but to please ourselves. Webcams are wonderful things & we kept in touch with family that way, we 'saw' those people we hold dear, we missed them in the name of our own health & sanity this year. Oh, last year! This year is a whole new ball game!!
We, like many other people, are learning the true meaning of Christmas. As an over-commercialised, over-consumerised, over the top event with little relevance to any other event in history (unless you are a true believer & have your God & still manage to find the space you need to worship & offer thanks - no disrespect intended by bracketing this notion it simply looks better on the page.....!) so yes, as all of that, the true meaning can only be about ourselves. I don't mean selfishly, I mean in terms of survival. The true meaning is to become self-aware, to use the time to reflect if that's what you need, but most importantly to look after your health & set yourself up for the year ahead. I speak as one who has lost her health, many years ago now, to the demands of life & all it rests upon us before we realise we can say no. Having got it back incredibly successfully there is no way I'm letting go ever again & I encourage everyone to consider how they may do the same.
I'm very lucky. I learned a valuable lesson, ok I did it a hard way, but it isn't going to end there. We need to hibernate. We need to look after ourselves through the madness of Christmas whether we extend into the ability to take time for deep sleep or travel away from familiar ground for a complete change & rest........ we do need to be still & quiet. For in the quiet wisdom comes. Trust me, once you've had it you'll want it again. More than that you will discover that this habit will sustain you where others may falter.
Whether you take a day, five minutes or five weeks, promise to give a little something to yourself & promise you will encourage your loved ones to do the same.
It isn't taking, it's giving. And after all,
isn't that what Christmas is all about?
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