Hello,
This morning my street screamed peace. The stillness took my breath away. On the other hand, last night when we pulled into the driveway, we had to be extra careful because cars were so packed in and the sounds of family chatter and laughter were coming from several directions. The memory of that made the peace of the morning even more stark.
I enjoyed it – sort of wallowed in it really. I walked around from room to room, enjoying the Christmas decorations and peeping out each window to see the peace from different angles. I got to thinking about the past few weeks and how much fun it has been…but before a thought of sadness or anxiety was allowed (it’s over, missing key people, the put-away process – sensed it coming, yes I did) I decided to prolong the peace for as long as I could.
It was wonderful. I did a few things worth sharing.
The morning after big events, celebrations and holidays is a great time for reflection. The stillness helps to induce honest reflection. So I reflected on a few things:
Reflection
What went really well this holiday season? What brought me great joy? What was my role in these things going well? How can I keep it going beyond the holiday season?
Rest
Morning after is also a great time to rest. Resting long and easy – without guilt or thoughts of work is essential. And the morning after is a great time to do it. But here again some reflection…what can I do to extend this rest, to get deep and revitalizing rest on a regular basis? What gets in the way and am I committed to removing all obstacles to deep rest?
Accountability
And finally, what a perfect time for some accountability; the morning after any big event, after some rest and reflection, make some time to account for how you handled yourself during the event, holiday, project, game or whatever went before.
So of course my mind went to my detox…Detoxing the spirit, mind and body during the hectic holidays is no slight challenge. It was at times very helpful to have the force of detox pulling me back on track but at other times, it seemed the dumbest idea I’ve had for 2010. A detox during the holidays! ‘Lord, what was I thinking’ I thought many a times!
But in hindsight, the morning after, I am so happy to have been on this ride. The areas where I struggled to get the challenges completed are noted for attention. The challenges that were “easy” ( did them without even much thought about “fitting them in”) are recognized as my strengths and I will build on those.
My accounting process didn’t take very long. I just took a look at the list of challenges and indicated with a √ those challenges that were “easy” during the season and placed a
“*” next to those where attention is needed in the coming weeks.
Accountability is liberating, and actually adds to the peace and rest of the morning after. I adore the sensation of deserved rest and relaxation. One of my favorite memories of college life is the day after all exams and papers were completed. I just loved it when I knew I did all I could to do my best. Didn’t enjoy it as much when the day after came on the heels of cramming and making up for messing up. But still, being accountable for how I messed up, allowed me to move on and enjoy the celebration of the semester’s end. Of course self-forgiveness is always necessary at these times. [see Daily Forgiveness Ritual here]
Make friends with ‘accountability’ and get to love to sensation it brings – freedom from guilt, space for action, peace from increased self-respect.
So there it is…the morning after, a great time for reflection, rest and accountability: If done without guilt these will add more peace and joy to your day. It did for me, so it can for you.
I wish you all that is good and wonderful.
Peace, Light & Love,
♥~
This message is part of the 21-Day Detox Challenge – Spirit, Mind & Body: Day 1. The program includes preparation exercises and specific planning and all previous messages can be found here. Video introduction is here.
This series began on December 8, 2010. By following the directions, you can begin this detox challenge in its entirety whenever you would like.
All program downloads can be found here (chart of challenges, self-evaluation, agreement form and handy checklist of all preparation exercises)