‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.’ Goethe
Today sees a new moon; that reliable beginning to a cycling through twenty eight days that invites perpetual renewal and the sowing of positive seeds. It gives me the irregular joy that comes from the opportunity to begin anything , for the first time or again, and with renewed intention. And that it aligns with both the beginning of a new month and the new pencil case feeling that is always September makes it feel especially potent. It is an energy I hope to harness. And with the youngest back at school and the others at work, there might also be the miracle of some time to do so.
There is something inherently forgiving about beginnings which is why I think I like them so much. Defined only by what is yet to come- all the still unwritten- rather than what has already been, with its’ more demarcated joys and its definitive deflations. It’s a pencil vs pen sort of thing. Aside from offering fruitful lessons, the penned nature of the past can so often be tainted by regret - all that we haven’t done or wished we hadn’t. Of all emotions, regret always strikes me as the hardest to park and so the least worthy of being fuelled by our attention.
But the start of anything benefits from some thought. And so as we move from the natural fluidity and spaciousness of summer into the more ordered days of September, there is an opportunity to take stock of where you are now and where you might like to be in the months ahead.
You might just want to write a stream of consciousness; whatever comes to mind in the space you have stolen for yourself. That in itself can be centring, even for those who don’t consider themselves to be writers in any sense. Writing is just thinking committed to paper after all.
Or you might choose to use the questions below as a guide.
Has there been an experience or series of experiences over the last month or so that offered up a lesson that you’d like to make concrete by writing down?
What feeling has summer left you with and how might you guard it as we pull away from its headier days?
Is there a thread from before the summer that you would like to pick back up?
Have you adopted something new but already habitual that you would like to let go of? You can include any other negative habits here that you would like to get a handle on.
What quality would you like- ideally- to define your next three months? How would you like them to feel?
Is there a project that you would like to take up most of your attention? What time have you got to give to it? Be realistic and generous to yourself?
Is there something that you struggle with or that takes up too much of your time? How might you seek practically to loosen its hold over you?
Is there something youve explicitly been pushing to the bottom of a list but that needs some attention? Write down the first step that needs to be taken to start the task? Try to do it before you do anything else.
Have you got any concerns with your physical health? How might you attend to them? It might be a singular thing or multiple things that you can do. Is there any way you could make this a priority?
Is there an overwhelming emotion that you are feeling at the moment? Is it inherently positive or negative? What practice might you bring into your life day to day or week to week to amplify or diminish its impact. Set yourself a realistic ambition for the coming months and start smaller than you want.
What is something you love to do but never give yourself the time for? Is there a moment in your week that you could put aside for it?
How do you switch off? What do you do that is playful? Again, are there moments you could earmark that could provide a balancing force to all of your endeavour?
What quality of body, heart and/or mind would you like to have recede a little more in the coming months? And what would you like to most amplify?
Is there something completely new that you might like to try? What would be the best way to begin? A commitment with a friend, a course, some time set aside?
Once you have played with these questions for a time, pop the pages into an envelope and set it aside. It can be useful to look back at them at regular interludes- every new moon could be one, or the start of the school terms, and revisit your thinking on a subject. And because you’ve written in pencil, there will always be the opportunity for a rewrite.
xx Nicole
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A reminder that I am hosting a beautiful yoga workshop this Sunday at Chippy Flower Farm. There are still some places left to roll out your mats amongst the flower beds and to be fully immersed in nature for a morning. As well as movement and breath and meditation, you will also take home a jam jar full of flowers from the PYO patch.
To book click here