I’m not really a fan of winter in the UK. I struggle like many of us do with the reduction of light and the departure of the sun for days on end. Last year however I discovered the magic of the electric blanket, and have already started using it this year to get cosy as the evenings draw in.
Alongside my electric blanket I have been doing a lot of meditation. As mentioned in a previous email, earlier in the year I went on a Vipassana meditation retreat, and although it was ridiculously difficult, it did show me just how powerful meditation is to bringing you back to your heart, your gut, and your inner compass.
I have spent numerous chunks of time through life ignoring my inner compass, and found myself making choices that didn’t align with what I really wanted, losing my voice and not speaking up, working out how best to show up in a situation in order to fit what others needed rather than how I really felt. But, as I’ve accepted that winter is coming, and leant into feeling cosy and going inward, I am cultivating a stronger connection to myself.
What’s coming up in this process is that actually, connecting to my inner wisdom, my compass, is the only powerful and meaningful way to move forward in life.
It can be a bit confusing sometimes when trying to connect with that inner wisdom, because our thoughts and ‘gremlins’ can get in the way. But if we get still enough, for long enough, we begin to tap into that truer feeling. It’s that feeling of knowing, that feeling of groundedness.
When we tap into our gut feeling it can be scary too, because sometimes the gut knows that it’s time to change jobs, to walk away from a relationship, to let go of a friendship, or to draw boundaries. But that’s where self-compassion comes in. If we can listen to our gut, be guided by it and take action based on it, and then pile a whole lot of inner support, love and compassion on top, we are sure to be moving through life in the best way we can.
So I encourage you to embrace the winter, get cost, get still, and go inward, you might just find all the answers you need.
With love as always, Hannah and Team Bird
Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash