Let’s help you reflect on the past year.
Today, we will explore how to reshape your understanding of self-worth and reflect on the past year. This winter, our blog will embrace coziness, self-care, and releasing what no longer serves us.
Your Worth is not defined by your accomplishments or lack of them.
Our culture instills the belief that we must compete, aim high, and be successful. This idea is a product of our capitalist society. Such thinking has fostered a sense of emptiness, leading many to struggle to identify their passions and values. Each individual possesses inherent worth independent of their achievements, back account, and possessions. Ultimately, it is our character and the decisions we make that shape our identities.
I encourage you to stop believing that you must do more to be enough. You don’t have to be perfect or overcome everything. Embrace your true self, care for yourself, and become the best friend you’ve ever had. Offer yourself gentle, encouraging words. By treating yourself kindly, you enhance your ability to practice self-compassion. This idea was entirely new to me until I discovered it at a workshop in 2014 from Rick Hanson. I felt like I was on a journey that required completion, convinced that achieving more would affirm my value as someone who makes a difference.
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis
Keep Moving forward, is just Avoiding Feelings.
For many years, I operated frantically, lacking time to pause, rest, or reflect. This constant drive was instilled in me by my family, with the mantra “Keep moving forward.” However, the relentless pursuit of achievements to fill an inner void left me feeling empty. As a recovering type A individual, I believed staying busy was essential to feeling alive. In truth, I was evading the grief accumulated from constantly pushing ahead. My fear of sadness and depression stemmed from the belief that these emotions would overwhelm me and render me ineffective. Lacking guidance on maintaining a healthy relationship with my emotions, I simply fled from them.
Learning to Pause
After moving to the Pacific Northwest, I’ve been learning to embrace mourning and pause before seeking solutions. I acknowledge my feelings, make space for them, and then ask them to unblend from me so that I can be a better witness of them. Journaling and expressing my thoughts and emotions have played a vital role in minimizing my impulsive reactions to others and decreasing the urge to escape uncomfortable feelings through compulsive behaviors like excessive scrolling, binge eating due to boredom, or purchasing unnecessary items. ( I am still working on not doing all of these things! I am a recovering addict, so that is not surprising.)
“The magic in new beginnings is truly the most powerful of them all.” — Josiyah Martin
Reflecting is a Mindful Blended Nervous System State.
As the year comes to a close, I encourage you to take some time for reflection. Engage in mindfulness regarding the past year. By reflecting, we gain insights into ourselves, recognize our patterns, and discern what benefits us and what does not. Pausing to reflect creates a sense of safety within us. This period of reflection blends dorsal and ventral vagal energy. The two parasympathetic states that help us to connect or recharge. The blended state of stillness enables us to teach our bodies a state of balance. We remain still, rest, and allow relaxation. Cuddling evokes a similar nervous state that promotes calmness. I invite you to embrace the light of inspiration and clarity.
Movement for preparing for stillness
If stillness feels challenging, try gentle movements to bring awareness back into your body. Stretch your arms and legs. Make gentle circles with your neck. Scrunch your shoulders up and down. These simple actions can help you notice the sensation of release. Next, connect with your spine and central channel by gently twisting from side to side. Awaken that space once more and come back to center.
Reflection on the past year
I encourage you to ask your guides, higher self, or any spiritual allies for assistance in gaining clarity and awareness. Here are the questions I invite you to ponder:
- What did this year bring?
- How did I grow this year?
- How did I change this year?
- What do I need to celebrate?
- What did I do well?
- What can I do better ? ( Be gentle with yourself. Please limit this to one paragraph.)
- What do I want to learn or work on in the coming year?
- Is there anything I need to mourn?
- What do I need to release and let go?
Embracing the Present Moment
My wish for you is to find healing, rest, and rejuvenation in this holiday time. Relax and enjoy the moment. For the this current moment is all you really have. The past is gone, and the future is yet to be written. So let’s just embrace now. Even if it hurts, it sucks night now. Everything is temporary, so let’s just ride the wave. For some time soon, the current and the weather will shift and bring us warmth, joy, and sunshine. Let’s just practice being.
“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein
January Offerings
I have two online workshops coming up in the next month. If you want to build a greater relationship with your guides, higher self, or spiritual allies, please join me for my next workshop on the 8th. If you want to learn to redefine your energetic, emotional, and spiritual boundaries, join me on the 22nd of January!
Let me know if there’s any way I can support you during this time of rest and attending to yourself. Until later, lovelies. Have a beautiful week.
With love and compassion,
Celine
