I used to hate the winter so much, especially after the holidays. Once all of the lights and decorations came down, it was so depressing.
Living in NY, the snow storms are beautiful. It looks like a winter wonderland. But the aftermath, not so much. The sidewalks have mounds of blackish gray slush, and when the wind chill turns the temperatures into single digits, it’s torture being outside. Spring used to seem like an eternity away.
Then my perspective changed. Some years back, I read that the Winter Solstice is the return of the light. The moment I read it, something shifted in me. And I’ve never looked at winter the same again.
I’ve grown to have a fond appreciation for it. It also doesn’t hurt that nowadays people leave their Christmas lights up well into February. Remember when we were kids, like clockwork on New Year’s Day, all the decorations and lights came down?
The lights feel so comforting when it’s so bleak and gloomy. I like to think of them as our north star, guiding us in the darkness.
It’s soothing. It’s also kind of like our shadows. We get so scared of looking at them that we’ll do anything to avoid it- escaping through substances, being in relationships that don’t help us to grow, buying and/or doom scrolling to replace the void we feel, finding anything to fill our time so we don’t get left alone with our thoughts.
We put so much effort into running away from the things that scare us, not fully comprehending that the emotions holding us hostage are also the keys to our freedom. And that’s not to demean any of us, it’s just kind of ironic.
Our shadows aren’t there to blind us. Our shadows are a return to our light.
They show us the parts of ourselves that need to be loved. They guide us into becoming the healed version of ourselves. They’re part of what makes us whole.
We don’t look at it that way though. We look at them as burdens and restrictions. Of course, we need emotional boundaries. It’s just about feeling our lower vibrational emotions without acting upon them.
So acknowledge your emotions. Give them the same care you would for the emotions you love to feel. Because it’s in that love that you come home to yourself.
If you’re worried that you won’t find home, everything you don’t want to feel is your yellow brick road. As long as you follow it, you can’t get lost. Lost was running away from yourself.
Set intentions to guide you (what do you want, who do you want to be, what kind of people do you want in your life, etc.). What do you need to release for that to happen?
Then start letting go. It doesn’t have to be anything drastic. You can do one small thing to build momentum. But don’t wait for the new year or one day. There is a perfect time- it’s right now. So make it count.
Let this be the day you decide to break free from everything that’s holding you hostage and return to your light.
I’ll see you soon…in the meantime, love yourself so much that even a Hallmark Christmas movie would be jealous.
