The holiday season of 2022 is dawning.
What will we make of it?
When I officiate weddings, I make sure to begin with a reminder to savor the precious minutes of the ceremony. After all, the wedding ceremony is one that is often the culmination of years and years of dreaming, hoping, waiting, and planning. In the intensity of the moment which has finally arrived, the couple and the family and the friends can be so overwhelmed that they space out, forget to breathe, and kind of, well…miss it. Or only experience it at half of their capacity. So, as we begin the ceremony, we slow down our breath, together. We remember that there is no rush, that what is happening here is to be absolutely treasured & fully felt.
This is how I am thinking about the coming holiday season.
After the last few years of fractured togetherness, I no longer take for granted being in the presence my big beautiful pack. To toast and light candles and pray and laugh, to share food, to sit fireside. To revel in the joy of the kiddos and fur babies. To be together in the spirit of celebration is one of the most ancient & life-giving practices we humans have ever invented.
No matter where your people are from in the world, your ancestors way back when, celebrated – at special times, for special reasons, and in special ways. They most certainly shared in music, and ritual, and food.
So no matter what holidays you are celebrating in the dawning season, this is a little reminder to savor it all. Remember to breathe during these heightened moments, which will help you to feel. Remember when you have the gift of speaking with a loved one, to really pay attention, to focus on the treasure trove of the human being which stands before you.
What you experience in the next many weeks, will soon exist only in your precious memories.
As you walk through this next period, can you really let each moment into your heart?
Here is a very simple (and sensuous) practice to help you savor this holiday season:
Sense & Savor
All you need is a beverage of your choice and 5 minutes.
You can do this each morning (perhaps with a cup of coffee or tea) and/or before you attend any special celebration.
1. Breathe into your belly as you pour yourself a beverage and take a seat.
2. Look: Pay close attention to the color of the beverage. Notice something new about the vessel it is in. Breathe & really take in the sight of your drink.
3. Smell: Take in a big inhale and really smell your beverage. Play with closing your eyes and letting your attention float on the scent.
4. Touch: See if you can tune into the specific texture of your glass or cup. Breathe as you feel the temperature of your drink through your hands.
5. Taste: Now, take a sip! And really allow yourself to take in the flavor of your drink. What happens to your taste buds as you imbibe this drink of yours? Mmmm…
6. Listen: Finally, as you continue this sensuous drink, what can you hear? It make be the subtle sound of the liquid swishing around, or it could be the soft hum of your refrigerator, or the bird songs outside, or your loved one walking about in the next room. Listen, savor each sound.
7. As you finish the drink take a moment to thank your five senses + your breath for helping you to feel. May you remember they are always with you as tools for presence in any moment.
May we all receive & create warmth, connection, and beauty this holiday season.
Coming up next week: Please join me on Wednesday, November 23rd for a very special New Moon Meditation Adventure ~online, from anywhere.
Sooon…
Much love to you and yours,
Chris
YOUR TURN
In the comments below, please share:
What is one thing you are looking forward to this holiday season?
Can’t wait to read ‘em! ♥️
On the Horizon
Join an international, intergeneration group of weird and wonderful wild-hearted Women in our online Cave (which lives on an app)!
We meet weekly in Circles, Workshops, Practices to keep our wild spirits lit!
Upcoming Weekly Gatherings:
Join us for an hour-long New Moon Meditation Adventure on May 7th!
Online, from anywhere.
Using a dynamic meditation journey, we will tune into the New Moon, to your own Inner Guidance, synced up with wild-hearted women from around the world. This offering will include music, storytelling, meditation, journaling prompts & intention-setting.
Can’t make it live? No worries. All participants will receive a copy of the recording with 24 hours of the session.
We have Wild Woman Project-trained Circle facilitators is 26 countries, and 44 out of the 50 United States.
Chris Maddox is the founder of The Wild Woman Project where she teaches women how to utilize the gifts of the Wild Woman Archetype in their everyday lives & how to lead women’s circles in their local communities. She is the organizer & facilitator of the beloved annual WILD WOMAN FEST, a women’s retreat-festival hybrid which fosters a deep connection to nature, a direct experience of the divine feminine & profound spiritual sisterhood among the women in attendance.
An ever student of the great mysteries of existence and nature itself, Chris believes women are holding innate gifts & tools that society at large needs – now more than ever. She is committed to helping women remember their special magic and to bring it forward into every corner of their lives, for the greater good of the planet.
Chris: thank you for this beautiful practice. This is a way, yes, of not taking the ordinary (which is extraordinary if we think about it) for granted. It is the opposite of the Cosmopolitan magazine approach to life, where women are taught to be on the ball, thinking and planning ways to be more alluring and avoid being “recycled”–“greet you man at the door with nothing on but cellophane.” Thank you and have a beautiful holiday.
Haha! True, Rita ♥️
Thanks you, dear.
Thank you, Chris! I was indeed in an absolute daze at my wedding. I wish I could have been a guest. This was such a great reminder to shift the focus to what is really meaningful. I wish you everything magical and meaningful for this holiday season, because you have given so much to so many, and deserve to be blessed many times over.
Thank you so much, Shelley ♥️ Let’s keep slowing down and savoring the meaningful.
Much love to you and yours!
Chris,
This is a beautiful practice. Thank you. That 5 minutes changes everything.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and inviting us to be aware and wild 💖
Thanks, love ♥️ glad you enjoyed it. Xo