A poem and a push up
They say that it takes 60 days to form a new habit. My friends, let’s get going! For we just might have some habits tied to claiming our powerwhich will stand us in good stead in 2025.
And here’s the thing. I can do this, because most of these habits are already within our frame. The habits we already know are those putting ourselves into the best spiritual, mental and physical shape we can be in to meet this rigorous year to come. Committing to these habits doesn’t need to be about huge measures. Perhaps it’s committing to read a poem a day or to notice three instances of beauty in a week, to move a little more and turn off the news when is giving us more anxiety than information. It might just be committing to standing up once on the hour and pushing up out of our chairs and away from the screens or the couch or the chair. It could be just committing to move a little bit more each day or to be outside connected to nature “on the regular,” as they say.
Perhaps–and I’m pretty sure this one is true–It’s about renewing those life-giving connections that we may have let go fallow. Perhaps we stopped calling some friends because during the pandemic when we got more devoted to the apps on our phones. Perhaps we’ve been in a lot of despair and not wanting to project that on others and so we’ve been isolating ourselves, even though our cousins might enjoy a good bitch session. Perhaps we have allowed ourselves to get cynical about the imperfection of all human connections and need to remember the many joys there as well. These 60 days give us our chance to strengthen our community connections and those that help us continue to thrives, learn and grow.
We have 60 days! That’s a long time when you realize how many opportunities for discovery and curiosity, gladness, and peace exist in even a single day. Of course, we will also have many days after that as well, and yet what a good way to focus on our own well-being and the well-being of those we love in this scary liminal time. We can decide to spend our time distracted and distressed , which is, by the way, the response that those issuing threats and chaos want us to have. Or we can exercise our own power muscles and shore up our understanding of who we are and what we need to do.
Looking for some ways to build your centering? Try our Saturday or Sunday meditation, qigong or yoga or other connecting groups which you can find here: https://mduuc.org/small-groups/ or tune into our new Podcast, Beacon Light which can be found on Spotify and other podcast outlets.
These precious, precious days are here for us to tell those we love how much we love them, for us to exercise love for ourselves. Maybe if we cultivate the habits of strength within and without, we will be firm in the habit of noticing the joy in the world as we enter into the unknowns of next year. Poems and pots of soup and pets and pampering might be just the harvest we need.