Cold and still...

I imagine it's colder where you live than where I live (coastal California)... but we've had unseasonably cold weather lately.  So, since it's been cold, and I've had a cold, I haven't been out to my "spot" lately to check on what nature has to tell me.  In an effort to muster the necessary willpower to get out there, I decided to buy myself a new notebook to record my "nature reflections".  I finally took it out there yesterday and sat.

I looked around for some time... and nothing caught my eye.  I saw some small birds (juncos for those of you who like birds) at the feeder... but really nothing else.  That's pretty unusual... so after awhile THAT became the thing I noticed.  Nothing was going on...

No leaves were sprouting... no flowers blooming (not a huge surprise... but I do live in California)... no clouds in the sky, no breeze moving things around...

Here there are often things growing in winter because it's our wet season... but what I noticed... was that my barren veggie garden didn't even have weeds in it.

Everything was deep in the stillness of winter... drawn inside... things held close... resting and waiting.  That made sense to me.  I had horrible congestion that I hadn't been able to kick... but I wasn't resting and taking care of myself.  I wasn't being still and resting.  Why not?

So... I wondered... what am I avoiding by not being still?  What would happen if I just rested... if I acknowledged that I was trying to avoid something?  I know now... the sadness I would feel over a lost relationship would surface.  I would have to face having lost a dear friend that I had hoped to know for a long time... to acknowledge that things had shifted and that we were drifting apart.

Sadness... that's what I would feel if I sat still too long.

Funny thing?  I sat down and felt the sadness... acknowledged it... nodded to it.  And the very next day (today)?  I was like 95% better... no congestion... no aches... feeling good... just a little tired.

I do believe in the connections between our emotional states and our health.  In fact, it's generally well documented... stress predisposes you to heart attacks and a bazillion other health problems, a lack of meaningful social connection is associated with depression... so I'm not shocked that I started feeling better as soon as I addressed how I was feeling.  And, I'll agree that it was day 5 of the cold... and a likely time for the old immune system to kick in and oust the invaders... so there's that too.  Just wonder how it chose today... hmmm...

Emerging...

OK, so here's dipping my feet in the swirling waters of 'emerge'...

I'm working with a really fabulous group of women on a new project.  It came from a discussion I had with one of these collaborators... where we talked about how nice it would be to have a wise woman as a friend... someone who would come over and help us straighten out our lives, be our true selves, and encourage us to simplify.  My friend said, "well, I do have that... in my friends.  I call different friends for different things... but they are wise in their own ways".  Of course!  Yes!... exactly... me too!  And then we thought... what would happen if we pulled these friends together?  Would we have a virtual wise woman in the group?  YES!

So, we decided to call on more and more wise women to join us.  You're not wise, you say?  That's what we all thought too.  Each and every one of us who are collaborating to bring Blue Stocking Salon to life said, "oh, but I'm not wise".  But the truth is... that we all have wise women inside of us.  She is your intuition, your muse, your inner sense of what is right.  Sometimes she just takes a little finding... posing her questions and listening to her answers.

If you feel called to connect to your wise woman... if you would like to learn more about her... please consider joining us.  Our eight week e-course starts on Monday, January 7th.

www.bluestockingsalon.com