A soft closure...
Bringing the chapter of 2024 to a gentle close
Hello lovely one
Are you treading lightly with yourself in this tender time?
I didn’t think that I would write to you again this year but as I sit in the ‘in between’ spaciousness of then and now I had an urge to write to you just one more time…
After an intense build up in the run up to Christmas day — including a day of me being sofa bound due to exhaustion on Christmas Eve — when we finally reached the ‘big day’ I felt a total sense of relief. Understanding that, for me, it is the anticipation that sends my inside churning is an important learning for me this year. It wasn’t about being organised or having everything perfect, it was simply an absorption of the wildness and intensity of the energy in my surroundings which is pretty hard to avoid.
So, with compassion I allowed myself to be the sensitive being that I am and accepted that for me, while I adore Christmas for many reasons, it is also a really hard time for me to manage my energy.
I have an undefined root and solar plexus in my Human Design chart and that makes me very susceptible to taking on the emotions of others AND feeling a lot of pressure from the outside world. Knowing this has been a game changer in how I ‘treat’ myself when I am feeling a bit off kilter.
Anyway… as we near the end of chapter 2024 I wanted to offer some very gentle invitations to you to help you close the year softly. While I am not a believer in just one day being pivotal, there is also something quite magical about a whole blank page of possibility ahead. (I also appreciate that this may also be daunting for some people so please be discerning and treat your heart lovingly)
You can simply reflect on these during the coming days, walk or move with the questions, perhaps bring them into conversation with others or write them down in your notebook.
Perhaps you might like to begin with this short and sweet meditation to help you land into your body softly.
⋙ What are you grateful for from 2024? Cast your mind back to each month, or each season, you can even look back at your journal or diary to jog your memory, and simply write a list.
⋙ What are you most proud from this year? Don’t be tempted to skip this one… self celebration is such a beautiful act of self tending.
⋙ What have been some of the hardest things of 2024? This isn’t about dwelling on the past but acknowledging what you have overcome.
⋙ What needs to stay/be left in 2024? Things you really don’t want to bring with you for the coming cycle.
⋙ What are you carrying forward into 2024? Beliefs, ideas, people, practices… what is firmly staying to support you.
⋙ Is there anything that still needs to be ‘wrapped up’ or ‘closed’ before we finish the chapter of 2024? Energetically tying things in a neat bow.
⋙ What word/words or phrases do you want to hold you as you enter the new year? For me the word I am leaning on at the moment is PRESENCE. I don’t know if it will be my word of the year but it is certainly the word I am sitting with the most right now.
As a little extra… for my work and business’, I felt called to do a little ‘2024 in numbers’ document that helped me see all that I have brought to life this year. I am not one who analyses numbers at all, but it was quite a powerful exercise to do. I included numbers of connections I have made through community, the number of circles I held and women I sat with, the number of mentoring and design clients I worked with… it was a really interesting exploration and brought me a really nice sense of closure.
In some areas I exceeded my hopes — for example I really wanted to meet 1000 subscribers on Substack by the end of this year and I met that at the end of November. But I also hoped to have 25 paying subscribers here too and I didn’t reach that. It isn’t about berating what didn’t ‘work’ it is simply providing me with a picture of how my work has reached and touched others and provides me with a foundation to explore and grow from. So if you feel like you want to ‘wrap up’ 2024 in your creative work or business, it might be a fun thing for you to do.
Remember there is no right or wrong way to travel through the portal of a new year. Be honest with yourself and ask what would feel nourishing to you… hibernation and rest, reflection and visioning… whatever suits your system is perfect.
I personally have always spent a lot of time doing reflective workbooks and rituals but I simply do not have the desire to do this now. I have been gently letting the questions above hold me and that feels enough.
As for what is coming for 2025… I have many seeds and ideas circulating in my system right now and if the urge arises I might write them down and explore a little more in my journal… but then again I might not!
Sending you so much love as we cross another threshold. I am so grateful for your presence here and can’t wait to journey deeper with you next year.
Until next time
Lauren
xxx
Hello to anyone who is new here… I am Lauren. A Mother of two daughters, Writer, Women’s Circle Facilitator, Sacred Business Mentor & Guide, Soul Branding & Website Creator and multi-dimensional human being. I walk with, and hold space for, others who are treading the tender path of their heart and soul work. You can find out more about this space and what to expect here. Please do subscribe to join the journey, and if you enjoy this, and you do have the means, I would be so grateful if you chose to support my creations for £5 a month…
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Totally agree, and it's even more important to go gentle with ourselves when we are faced with family members who may not have that gentle approach too, or don't understand why we are feeling the way we are at Christmas. Yes, that's it isn't it, remembering it all and recognising what's going to help soothe you. The demands from school at Christmas literally gave you chasing your tail, it becomes overwhelming very quickly. I definitely do not keep up with it all and voluntarily opt out of a lot of it, rightly or wrongly!! Hope V's settling in sessions go OK too ❤️. Unbelievably my youngest will be 3 in May so will be going to half day school nursery come September, I still think of him.as a baby so big changes ahead!! Xx
Hope you are feeling better Lauren and that you had a good Christmas 🎄. Gosh I can relate, especially to this part:
"So, with compassion I allowed myself to be the sensitive being that I am and accepted that for me, while I adore Christmas for many reasons, it is also a really hard time for me to manage my energy."
It is such a hard time of year and recognising that helps us prepare for it better I think, to put things in place to support our wellbeing or meet ourselves with compassion for how we feel. I love your reflective prompts too, will make time to sit with these over the next week or so ❤️. Xx