Celebrating the Day of the Girl – October 11th
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More about the Durga Tree Bloom ProgramTM and our efforts to turn survivor to thriver.
Cramps, Chaos, and Crowns
Today, I awoke to a cramp in my side- a literal pain in my ass from hours of driving this weekend, far too many emails to answer, bills to pay, several loads of wash to handle and a food shopping list that needed to be acquired. What I initially yearned to do was dive back under the covers and pretend it all away. Maybe just watch bad TV all morning and not deal with my current state. Instead, after some time under the covers, I decided it was okay to feel overwhelmed, physically mediocre and move at a slower pace than usual. The key here was movement.
I knew deep down that if I ignored all the “to do’s”, they would just pile higher and I would feel even shittier tomorrow morning, perhaps without the pain in my ass, but still pretty crumby. So, I took my coffee and laptop to bed (a nice compromise), went through my emails, handled what needed answering right away and then slowly got up. I took a moment to make an honest inventory of what actually needed to be done and what could wait, and then began my day.
So many women want to be Queens of their own lives and yet so many live in the realm of excuses. I am not suggesting your worth is equivalent to what you get done in a day, BUT what you get done in a day should reflect the queendom you are actively co-creating with spirit. I am also not suggesting we all shouldn’t nurture ourselves and take time off, but when we do not tend what needs tending, it only compounds. That is the plain and simple truth I often use the garden as a metaphor for life and I will say that since I have ignored my front beds this summer, the weeds that have taken over are now more deeply rooted and much harder to pull then when I tended to them daily a little at a time.
I want to create a life, inner and outer, that resonates with my soul. In order to do, this I must participate, even with that pain in the butt. Today, I won’t get everything on my list complete, I am not moving fast but I am pulling some of the weeds while wearing my crown, drinking tea for my cramps. If we want a queendom that nourishes, we must tend and nurture it every day.
Balancing the divine and daily life
For man
y women September marks the beginning of the school year for their children and even themselves. The slow pace of summer is over and our calendars fill up with “to do’s”, classes, meetings and the varying hectic schedules of our families. Even for women who do not have children, the pace at work seems to pick up.
The summer often gives us a chance to connect with nature either by spending time near water, outside in our gardens, playing sports outside or even just dining outdoors with our family. Our interconnectedness with nature adds to our peace and sense of calm. It is because of this state of mind that many of us feel ready to tackle the fall and all her commitments, however,after the buzz of the first few weeks what I often hear from my clients and friends is their frustration at failing to juggle it all. Complete exhaustion has set in and appointments begin to slip through the cracks, we may forget to pack a child’s lunch, an email or phone call can’t be returned, we start canceling or resenting activities we looked forward to just last month and the “shame” of not being wonder women sets in. Then there is our personal self & soul care that is often last on that list, so that get’s thrown to the side, hopefully to be picked up again when we make our new years resolutions in the heart of winter.
It is no wonder that by March so many of us are suffering from seasonal depression and an overwhelming sense of spring fever. Personally, I believe we need to stay connected to the Goddess all year long by honoring the seasons in nature, making sure that we spend time outdoors no matter what season and most importantly carving out FUN time throughout our daily routines – not just cramming it into a few weeks in summer and nurturing ourselves on a daily basis.
We are a society that rewards “busy” but the by product of that reward is stress and all the negatives that come with it. When you add something to that calendar, consider how it serves your life. Are you over scheduling from societal pressure? Are you saying NO to events and activities that are aligned with your heart and soul (like a date night, some service work or even a long walk with a friend) and saying YES to another meeting for work, dinner with acquaintances you don’t truly enjoy spending time with or adding another activity to your child’s already busy schedule.
I say this fall, instead of driving ourselves into exhaustion, we STOP… we CONSIDER what will serve us and what will not….we take our TIME when adding something to our calendar, we learn to lovingly say NO and we say YES to scheduling in time for activities that keep us balanced and connected to each other, our world and the divine.
For a few minutes, just reflect on this beautiful image of the divine feminine, she dwells with us all, balanced, peaceful and poised to handle her tasks. Breath that in and allow that energy to fill you today.