WINTER REFLECTION

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”

Edith Sitwell

When most are taking the start of the new year to make resolutions and to look ahead, I like to take a few weeks of the new year to look back. To reflect on the past year. Taking the time to read through old journals. The time to think about where I was. I value the time to reflect on the victories and the “not victories” of the past 365 days. We can establish a peace with just thinking of the accomplishments we have obtained. There is so much to glean from this reflection. Whether they be small or large successes, they are still movement forward. With each achievement, it is success over a struggle or endeavor against the odds and difficulties of this life.

With the reflection of each large triumph, we can take pride in ourselves. I think this is so important, in order to give you the confidence to embark on the new season you are in. But also, taking the time to celebrate the small victories is also so precious and so rewarding. Those small victories can not be discounted. They are still a “win”. In those small victories, we give ourselves the courage to keep trying new things, pushing onward, building confidence, and establishing the trust in oneself that they are capable of even larger feats.

Then there are those, let’s just call them “not victories”. Oh, how hard this part is. But necessary. These are not defeats. There may be loss. There may be frustration. There may be self-examination. But with all this comes knowledge and wisdom. Life has a way of teaching us through all the encounters we experience, good or bad. We take what we can from each and leave the rest. There should never be any self-condemnation. Only reflection to learn what will assist in the future.

These long days of winter, or actually, these short days and long nights of winter, give us opportunity to take the time to slow down just a bit, reflect and find some comfort in the warmth of our homes. Also, experience alone time, or that special time with close friends, shared beside a fire over a cup of tea. To look back over the previous year, to find resolve with it. Then look ahead. Only then we can start to regroup. After being recharged from the reflection and rest, we can focus on this new season ahead of us. The idea of new adventures and different experiences. The chance of opportunities for victories, and yes, even “not victories”. All of which creates growth.

Blessings,

From the Hollow