Grounding + Goodbye

As I write to you this week, the birds are singing wildly, and the sun is deciding if she will win the fight with the clouds today.  

Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk. A ‘Reflection Walk’. A walk where I do not take my phone and am not plugged in. I am only present to my feelings, my thoughts and my surroundings. 

It is now a regular ritual that I do two to three times a week, but as writing has been my focus for the last two weeks, I have taken myself on a ‘Reflection Walk’ nearly every day. 

As I was walking yesterday, I was thinking about the concept of grounding and the various rituals I have in my life to keep me grounded within myself.  

One of the aspects of my Reflection Walk is that I only walk two routes, and the familiarity is grounding. I watch various trees and plants change through the seasons. I recognise the birds whose names I have learned over the years, sometimes even having a little chat with them. (Read my latest Farm News about the phenomenon of birds and midlife!)  

If a tree takes my breath away, I will stroke it and tell it how beautiful it is. If one is looking unwell, I say a few kind words.  

I find it grounding to be in nature and recognise that I am part of something bigger. I find it grounding to end the day knowing how I am feeling. It gives me information about what I need or want to do when I return home.  

As we are reaching the end of the year, reaching for the rituals and people who ground us is a worthwhile use of our time. We need to consciously ground ourselves in beauty and connection. 

You may not be able to walk in nature for various real or perceived reasons, but what does ground you? Who grounds you? Who brings you back to yourself when you have forgotten how to do it for yourself?  

What brings you back to yourself when your mind, body and spirit feel fragmented?  

Grounded does not happen by accident; it happens when we understand we are worthy of our own time and give ourselves our own time.  

This is my last ‘Weekly Words’ for 2023.  

It has been an absolute delight to write to you again this year. If you sent me an email of thanks or gratitude, I hold your words and kindness in my heart; they have nourished me in some of the more challenging experiences I have navigated this year. They have also ignited food for thought, joy, and wonder. I hope my words have given you some of the same.

I do not take for granted that you choose to read my words and support my work. Thank you. 

I am excited to share that next year, I will be expanding ‘Weekly Words’ in a way that creates deeper conversations and contributions with and for you. 

Before then, though, we have Reflections 2023. Please join me as we ground ourselves in the year that has been the ups and downs and in-between times. 

Register Here

I will return to your inbox in mid-February 2024. 

As always, I would love to hear your insights, thoughts or musings.

Wishing you a holiday season where you understand that you are worthy of your own time.