Too often it seems that good things slip through our grasp, and we spend much of our time desperately grabbing for what we lost, or clawing for something new just out of our reach. In this mindset, we exist in a constant chase of our desires, and are unable to appreciate what we do have. As the end of the year approaches, many of us look back at our year’s regrets— resolutions unfulfilled and hopes dashed, but that is the unfortunate malaise of our modern world. In earlier centuries, the cooler weather and change of seasons was time for celebration ~ rich harvests yielded grand feasts and families looked towards each other for protection from the cruel world outside the walls of the home.
These days it seems the outside world is harsher than ever, filled with stress and anxiety, addictions and illness, debt and hopelessness. In order to survive, many are constantly on the go, rushing from one appointment to the next, juggling jobs, children, obligations, and traffic. It feels selfish, if even possible, to permit a few moments for yourself and acknowledge all that is good, and yet, it is needed more than ever.
There are several methods of grounding yourself, like returning to life's natural rhythms by getting out into nature: camping in California's forests does this for me. Attending a sound bath is another powerful way to wash yourself from anxiety and get lost in binaural beats that move you through an alternate time and space.
A third method is to simply stay home ~ do yourself the favor this holiday season of turning down a night of social obligations and replacing it with an enriching night in. Tend to your own needs by tidying your home, making a healthy meal, and indulging in self care. FOMO creates a vacuum where there wasn’t one before, so put away your devices and take pride in the cultivation of a better, truer you. It means reading a book, lighting a candle, and playing some music. It also means picking up a pen and paper, and through words or through art, letting your mind wander across the page uninhibited.
Autumn demands you return to your primordial rituals~ of tending to your roots, harvesting your feed, plugging up holes and wrapping up loose ends. It is about resetting priorities to their most humble origins, and being grateful that you’re living another day to do so. Staying in allows you to get to know yourself, and the lives of the people who matter to you the most. There’s no better season than Autumn to snuggle up to a loved one, roasting veggies and slow-cooking stews.
Your home should be your sanctuary: a place where you feel safe, comfortable, and free. SandSilkSky aims to manifest peace and tranquility in the home, harnessing nature through movement and light and reminding you to live with gratitude and grace. These dream catchers make wonderful gifts for the Thanksgiving hostess generously opening her home this holiday season. Sharing with your community is what the season is all about, and the world is smaller than ever; we share the pain of each other’s tragedies in ways humanity has never been able to before. More than ever, gestures of compassion and generosity are valued and accepted, and should be offered to all.
We are not vessels with finite resources of compassion. These acts of humanity help us discover our own strengths, and bring peace to others. If we could all make our selves examples of generosity and compassion, we will discover our roots and our capacity to serve will only grow. This is how we manifest abundance, and its a win-win.
Staying in taught me all of this. The more I rejected the pressures of the modern world to fill my time with obligations, and instead cultivated healthier habits and self-restoration, the more I began to appreciate acts of grace by other people. Finding reasons to be grateful, and acting out of compassion for myself and others has given me more confidence than I ever had previously. I found my roots this way, and I have now been able to firmly put my feet on the ground-- for maybe the first time in my life-- and say “this is what’ I’m about.” I’m 35 years old, I’m an artist, I’m a woman, and I Am Enough.
The result is that I enjoy myself so much more when I do go out, and I can offer more of myself to others. This confidence is what channeling the Root Chakra is all about, and why it is the foundation for balancing all other chakras. Click here for more guidance on chakra meditation, and may you manifest many blessings this holiday season.
Happy Thanksgiving, and Namaste!