Things in Erin’s Head

I had started noticing the shift in seasons with the rising and setting of the sun. Darkness was still upon us at 6am each morning when #NotMyCat stood meowing at the door to be let out. The darkness also started slipping in earlier each evening. The humidity in South Florida lifted for a mere two days – just long enough to remind us what it feels like to take a deep breath without your lungs turning into a swampland (and then the deep humidity cruelly returned – meh).

Those two days of lighter air drew my attention to the equinox and I felt really excited about the autumn season. Thoughts of heartier foods stirred in my belly. Dreams of smelling crip leaves that have just landed on damp soil. Tall boots and plump sweaters. Painting watercolor pumpkins (did you see my picture on the socials??) 

I broke out the pumpkin spice essential oil for my massage clients.

In a fun synchronicity (I love a good synchronicity)I received two messages this week about hibernation. The first came to me through Instagram. A reel about a study where they injected something similar to adrenaline into redwood trees to prevent them from going into hibernation, and in the story, the trees die within a year because they didn’t get to hibernate. 

The second message came to me from an oracle card from Rebecca Campbell’s deck The Healing Waters Oracle. ‘The Wellspring’ card says in part, “We must embrace our humanity and take care of the body by slowing down, quenching our thirst, and finding ways to deeply recover and rest.”

Honoring our own internal seasons.

So I don’t know that the redwood study is real (I couldn’t find anything in a quick Internet search). And I *did* find something that said they never go fully dormant… (and almost spent an hour reading about the California Redwoods because I do love them so very much). And the oracle cards are fun for me and I like to see what messages reveal themselves to me. These two messages were like a redwood soaring out from beneath a dense layer of fog whispering deeply to my soul, “It’s OKAY to not be “on” all the time.” And << Test First Name >>, you too can recharge quietly, privately, with the equivalent of a #NotMyCat purring on your chest… and it’s okay. It’s safe for you to hibernate. To honor your season of winter.

My workshop, “Taking the Pause: Redefining Self-Care” has been around for over a year now. It was hosted live right after my book launch and the recording has been available, just lingering in its own hibernation for many months. As we enter this fall season I was called to bring it forward again, because it isn’t serving anyone in a vault. As the (gasp, dare I say it?) H O L I D A Y S approach, do you need a few moments to pause and reflect on how self-care is serving you? Maybe you need to redefine it? Reframe it in a way that serves YOU – and not in the way that everyone else says it SHOULD serve you. In a way that makes you feel love…

Because it’s all about love…

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