Happy December! The holiday season has arrived. As colder temperatures and storms dot the days, life begins to slow down.
Gone are the days of spring when everything around us bloomed and grew.
The days of summer are in the past. Staying cool and busy during the summer months before school starts is always a busy time.
Fall starts to change the colors a bit, letting us know that winter is headed our way.
Winter completes the cycle of the year, bringing closure to 2022. As we do often at the end of something, we look back and think – how was it? What did I learn? How did I grow? How am I different from January of this year? Let’s connect with our inner self, let’s review.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. How does your body feel in this moment?
Keeping breathing and ask yourself, looking back at 2022, what did you enjoy?
You may hear something different than you expected. Continue to breath and ask yourself these questions to reflect on the year passing. You can do so all at once or you can gradually over the course of a few days or weeks.
Questions
How was your self-talk this year?
Did you conquer any big obstacles?
When looking back on the year, what were the highlights? Did you learn something new about your body? Do you have a new skill? A new thought pattern? A new body positive practice?
What would you like to do more of?
What makes your body feel alive with electricity?
Who does your body feel safest with? Is there a friend that makes you feel special & safe? Is there a parent that helps you feel seen & heard?
Think over these questions in the coming month and be open to what you hear. Doing them all at once can feel like a lot. Asking one question allows us to ‘open the door’ to knowing how we feel.
Growing involves reflecting. It involves noticing where we were and where we are now. The secret is, we are all growing constantly. Everyone is learning new things every day. You are not the only one.
The more we build our ability to remain present with how we feel, the more we can connect to our bodies. This means we will be more in tune with what our needs are in that moment and the next and the next. And these moments make up our lives.
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Kristen Donia is a freelance writer living in a tiny house she built in sunny Southern Oregon. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and has dedicated her life to studying and writing about empathy, vulnerability and enriching the human experience.