Rest to Digest
“I think there are only two instructions we need to follow to develop and deepen our spiritual life: slow down and let go.”
― Oriah Mountain Dreamer
art by Wendy Andrews
My husband and I recently stumbled on a way to bend time, stretch out the hours, and enter an ancient rhythm.
We’ve been participating in a lovely pilgrimage into the dark offered by Megan Leatherman (check it out here).
The practice is simple: for four weeks on Sunday evenings, we turn off all screens and electric lights and bask in the glow of candlelight as we settle into darkness.
It is profound how time slows down in the dark.
I’ve been thinking about how fast light travels—literally, at the speed of light! In the dark, with that rush of light absent, a spacious presence feels palpable.
There is a sense of being solidly here.
Without the distractions that light enables, I feel how tired my body actually is. Billy and I have clocked 10 hours of sound sleep the past two Sunday nights. And it feels so good! The darkness gives us full permission to take an early bedtime.
As the wheel of the year turns us towards winter here in the northern hemisphere and the earth grows colder and darker, the soft animals of our bodies hunger for more rest.
Winter offers a different kind of nourishment than we receive in other seasons. It gives us the fertile gifts of darkness: rest, roots, reflection, soil, softness, sleep, and, of course, dreams.
As we come to the end of a year full of so many individual and global happenings, slowing down helps us to digest and integrate the many experiences we’ve accumulated.
Personally, 2023 has been one of the most challenging years of my life. Collectively, we all feel the immensity of the pain and violence in Palestine. It is all so much to process.
As my friend Cindy, who is a nutritionist, likes to remind me, “We must rest to digest.”
What is true for the body is true for the soul.
When there is so much that has occurred in our lives and hearts, it is even more important to take the time to rest as a way to choose healing and wholeness.
In the midst of the holiday hustle and end-of-the-year push towards productivity, how might you find ways to slow down, go soft, and enter the dark? How might you say yes to rest?
May you carve out moments to soften into the dark of these late autumn nights. A little goes a long way.
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Going into the depths is what 1:1 Soul Tending is all about. Click to learn more.
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Hello, dear one. I’m Stephanie.
As a Soul Companion, educator, and sacred space holder, I am passionate about deepening our connection to the earth, our bodies, and the divine mystery that dances in all that is.
Let’s journey together into the sacred wild!
