Wishing You a Gentle Wrap up to the Year
As we are nearing the end of the year, I am feeling introspective and grateful and also a little surprised at how quickly the time has gone! It feels hard to believe we are already almost through December, and so much has happened this year.
I am writing this curled up on the couch, with a dog on either side of me, having come through more than one unseasonal snow and ice storm this month but having recently warmed up enough to melt everything and pour rain at the same time. I just came across a meme saying that “it’s disrespectful outside” and that feels completely apt to me right now, while at the same time appreciate the incredible beauty of the snow and ice, and the delight it brings. I am working through the holidays but with many clients away, it has been quiet. I feel immense gratitude to be able to take time to rest during this limbo time, warmed by tea and fire and dogs, and nourished with a stack of books and snacks.
Helena Fitzgerald at the Atlantic has named this time Dead Week – “nominally still the holidays, but also the opposite of a holiday, a blank space stretching between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when nothing makes sense and time loses its meaning.” In the Northern and Western Hemisphere, it is easy to understand this feeling, as productivity grinds to a halt and all kinds of things are closed and cancelled even without the inclement weather. But that doesn’t sit quite right with me, firstly because of how centred it is in Western privilege (“For many of us, this is the only time of year when it feels possible, and even encouraged, to do nothing”) but also because it is only dead time in the way that trees are “dead” in winter. Nature is suggesting we rest and nourish ourselves – this is a liminal time, the world is shutting down, the animals are spending most of their time eating and sleeping, and the trees are doing their deep work is underground. For a few years I have been following Carmen Spagnola’s Yuletide practice of taking this time to reflect on the year, honouring ancestors and family and the land, and marking time in miniature – the 12 days symbolizing the 12 months of the year. It feels like a time to hold space and process what we have been through, as well as rest in preparation for what is to come.
For some, this is a time of holidays and family (for good or for bad – or oftentimes both), while for others it is the lack of structure and celebration and loved one that causes the rift in routine and unnerves us. In any case, it is often a time of high stress, bringing up lots of emotions. I hope it is a gentle time for you and you are able to take what you need from this time.
New website, new clinic...new business really
“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.”
― Anais Nin
A lot has changed this past year, from changing jobs from the Surrey Women’s Centre to joining the team at Local Health Integrative Clinic in Surrey, and getting all of the pieces of starting a private practice sorted out. But as this is the first missive from the new site, it is fitting to say a little bit about my journey. It doesn’t feel like all that long ago that I was sitting at a desk in Seattle, hating my corporate job and feeling far away from my life’s purpose. I took the leap to change careers and countries, going back to school and making many new friends in the process. It hasn’t always been easy, but I have loved working with different teams and clients at Dragonstone Counselling and SWC and feel like I am really coming into my stride with all the behind the scenes work that has gone into Radiant Life Counselling. See the about page for more.
The website will be a home base for booking sessions and consultations for new clients, as well as a place to explain my process, and to share regular articles on topical subjects and upcoming events, as well as resources. Sign up for the newsletter and follow me on instagram to make sure you don’t miss anything. Each month there will be a mailing with updates, some resources or tools that I’ve come across and some wisdom or insight for the season.
Upcoming Goal-setting Workshop
On January 22nd, I will be leading a holistic goal setting workshop (combining intuitive and S.M.A.R.T. goals so that you can dream big and make it happen) workshop at Local Integrated Health Clinic, as part of a One-Day Getaway. Think of it as a staycation retreat that combines rest, rejuvenation, connection, and fun. Each hour will have a different workshop offering – including yoga, hypnotherapy, and more interactive talks focusing on starting the new year strong. It also includes lunch and some other goodies for participants.
Pricing is $149 per person with an early bird discount available until January 13th of $99.
Register here or contact me for more information.
What I'm Reading & Watching
- Ted Talk: What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness. I have seen this many times before, and am familiar with the study, but I find it is a good reminder to connect with the research findings.
- Nisitohtamowin ᓂᓯᑐᐦᑕᒧᐃᐧᐣ, an eLearning resource from First Nations University of Canada, Reconciliation Education and BMO Financial Group. I have started going through this free, online indigenous training to complement my socially responsible practitioner values.
- You feel like shit – a fun way to gamify self-care when you don’t really feel like it. The SuperBetter app is another good one.
- From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, Arthur C. Brooks. A friend recommended this book and I found it to be a useful corollary to the persistent messages about striving.
- How to keep hummingbirds from freezing. Important information with all this extreme weather we’ve been having.
- How to Fly in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons, Barbara Kingsolver’s book of poetry which is a somewhat random collection of poems but I loved their quiet beauty after reading her novel Demon Copperhead (which is excellent but gives deep insight into childhood trauma and systems of oppression).
- Depression is more than low mood – it’s a change of consciousness. An interesting perspective on depression.
- Deconstructing Karen. A documentary film about a dinner party where white women take accountability for their racism.
