Springtime is the perfect opportunity to start fresh by consciously pausing to rest, reflect, and recalibrate. Create space for quiet time and make the most of it. Here’s how.
Back to basics
Take several deep conscious breaths and reflect on your
- energy level
- physical health
- emotional state
- financial condition
- relationship health
Notice where you may be out of balance, depleted, or too full. This gives you a quick baseline, a reference point to guide you forward.
Shouldn’t I be doing something?
When we’ve been doing a lot, it can seem like there’s something off if we don’t continue to keep busy. However there’s so much to be learned when we shift focus from doing to being.
Judy Cashmore is a movement and embodiment teacher. She sees numerous benefits to embracing the quiet of being:
- deep restoration of our nervous system
- sparking of creative impulses and problem-solving approaches
- clearer perspective on ourselves and on our lives
- space to process and release any stuck or repetitive thoughts and feelings
- connection with the natural world by allowing ourselves our own “season” of quiet
We’re all wired differently!
The 20th-century analyst Carl Jung posited that people either recharge themselves in solitude (introverts) or socially (extroverts). The contrasting styles are on a continuum where each person has differing proportions of each style. Thus, we may have different levels of comfort with social stimulation and also different ways of centring and recharging.
If you’re more introverted and yearning for downtime, yet still have family, work, or social obligations, try intentionally integrating boundaries and breathers. If, on the other hand, you’re more extroverted and yearning for social activity to continue, try reaching out to others and do something together.
Reframing alone time
Notice what story you tell yourself about alone time—because that story will inevitably influence your perspective. If you think there’s something wrong because you are alone right now, try reframing to encompass the notion of space for something new.
If you’ve been spending a great deal of time alone and telling yourself it’s good because it’s solitude, consider if you’re avoiding or missing something else. You might reframe your experience as a period of isolation from which you can shift.
Recognize that your beliefs affect your perceptions and thoughts—so if you want a different experience, change up your assumptions!
Find the gold
This season will transition into the next. Before it does, you have some space to give yourself a shake and begin anew. Take your time, and maybe appreciate yourself in the process. There is really no one like you!
By Carole Ames
