Today's Medicine: Slowing Down and Paying Attention

Sacred Sunday

This was the scene at my house this morning. I wasn't snowing when I rolled off the couch just after 7:15 this morning but it started up again in the early afternoon. It hasn't let up since. We've about a foot and a half of glorious snow and I can't imagine that it will let up enough for me to brave the roads to work tomorrow. Yay for snow days! I've spent most of today tying up just a few loose ends and resting. It's been a thoughtful day and some that have wandered through my head are:

-I'm not drinking enough fluids. With the bitter cold and wind, I really need to make sure I drink extra water, tea and juices. Especially since the cough is still lingering and I'd really like to be done with it now, thanks. My psoriasis hasn't gotten better but it's also not gotten worse, so that's a mixed blessing. Thank goodness for soaking baths and honey.

-With the weather being so bad, we've been living off what's in the pantry and freezers. It's made me realize that we do have plenty of food and I can indeed create nummy things for us to eat out of what we have. I've been more resourceful this past week than I've been in a loooong time. It was good to use what we have instead of being consumed by our instant gratification: IE, 24 hour grocery stores 5 minutes away from home.

-There is a sense of timelessness to Winter weather like this. Even though the day felt incredibly short due to limited sunlight hours, I feel like it also lasted at least half again as long as it did. Yay for time wonkiness!

-The birds on the back deck are incredibly distracting and yet there is no way I'm moving the bird feeders. For one thing the cats would be very displeased- they like their entertainment. I catch myself gazing at them for 20 minutes at a time, usually when I'm on my way to accomplish some household task. I find this amusing and can't help but think of Mercedes Lackey. In her Elemental Master novels, she talks about how Air elementals, Slyphs, can be dangerously distracting to those allied with Air. After noticing how much of a time suck it is to watch those lovely winged folk outside my back door, I can't help but agree.

-Note to self: Do Ceremony. Often. And if I have planned to do one, Just Do It. Don't procrastinate- I will feel much lighter for doing it.

-Naps are evil in a terribly delicious way. Especially in Winter. And cats are consummate con-artists. "Come on.. you know you want to lay down for just a minute. I really need my belly rubbed. Ooo.. bring that blanket over here too." The next thing I knew, it was 3 hours later and the sky was dark. Blasted beautiful felines.

The thing is, I truly enjoy slowing down and savoring my daily life. It's been such a long time since I've had a chance to do so that I'm not sure exactly how to let it flow gracefully. I guess that's part of the lesson too- if I don't allow myself the down time, how can I expect to remember? I know that slowing down and going with the flow allows me to be more rested, more compassionate with myself and others and I tend to accomplish a lot more than I planned. So I'm taking this Winter break to heart and resetting some parameters in my life. We'll see what happens once the snow melts and my life tries to speed up again. Because there is no doubt in my mind that it will make the attempt...