It’s just gone 10am here in North Shields and I sit sipping a white mocha and the light is bright for this time of year. January. Grey is resting today as a low golden light picks up the blue in the sky and illuminates.
The wind still howls through the cracks in the windows as the birds gather to migrant to warmer climes. They honk their departure. Does that sound like a warning or exclamation of joy?
What does it mean to listen? What does it mean in practice, in our every day lives?
[LISTEN]. My word of the year is [LISTEN].
My word for 2023 has been with me for a few months now. At the back end of 2022, I knew what I was going to carry with me into the next year after being/ following Open, my word of 2022.
I’ve been feeling my way into this practice of listening for the past few weeks, attempting to figure out what adopting this word for this year means to me, my {being} and practice.
Of course, I don’t have the answers as it’s early days. But I know it means paying attention, {being} in the moment, {being} present for myself and others. This means I need to slow down even more to give myself a fighting chance of listening.
We listen to our environment or do we? We listen to others or do we? We want others to listen to us but do they?
I know I’ve been developing the practice of listening to my instincts, my gut and heart more readily that my head as I trust their guidance more than ever now after decades of blocking out their messages and guidance.
I think what I want to embody, through adopting the word as a guide, is the ability to listen more closely. To allow myself to stop and pay attention as in that moment I create not just a connection with my surroundings, others and self but I make/ take back time. Presence. Joy.
I want to listen more carefully without judgment or impatience or offering advice. I want to practice listening on a much deeper level. In deeper ways. To gain clarity and connection but also to find my way home. To heal.
My intention is to listen as within this practice alone my listening can only deepen for the better, for all.
Welcome to 2023. Wow. We got here quick with 2022 flying by. I wonder what 2023 has in store for us all?
I eased into the first day of 2023, after a lie-in, with breath work, meditation and intention setting. For the life I envision, I need to invite in the energy of calm and peace.
I know (re)starting my gratitude practice will support me in this endeavour. No matter how small, taking a moment to give thanks, a small act of presence, mindfulness, and care is a gift I could be giving to myself daily. So why do I resist or forget and allow this practice to disappear from my life?
Fear. And that belief that I’m not worth healing. That I don’t deserve happiness and peace. It’s time to switch up my thinking and ways of treating myself.
I pulled the womb card today from The Earthcraft Oracle. I’ve been pulling one card a day for months now, and today does not fail to chime with how I’m feeling or send me the message I’ve been listening for.
The womb is the centre of all creation. The womb holds all the potential. This card comes into my life today of all days to remind me how to awaken my sacral chakra. To lean into creation as here there is healing. Create and heal are the same thing.
To create, one must imagine something that has never been. To heal, one must be willing to embrace a new way of being.
The Earthcraft Oracle Guidebook
On the first day of the year 2023, I take on board this message and practice to stimulate my creative centre and bring forth inspiration and healing for myself, and for those who came before me and for those who come after me. Ashe.
Living Wild Studios 