We are all guilty of it, of being a collector of things that we don’t make good use of. There is a shift happening in the direction of minimizing our lifestyles. Thinning out those personal belongings that fill our physical spaces and create clutter in a way that is taking up more space in our already busy lives. Netflix currently is running a documentary called “Minimalist,” and one thing the creators suggest is when going through our stuff attempting to create less distraction in our lives; they ask the question, “Does this item bring value to my life?” The question itself became a simple tool for me in deciding whether or not I genuinely need to have yet another blouse or trinket of some kind before making the purchase. But it also made me think further into the idea of how we collect tools for our mental and emotional well-being and perhaps the necessity to declutter or rotate them out.

Words have such power to inspire, comfort, support, encourage, and tear down, discourage, belittle, stress, or create anxiety and self-doubt. Whether written or spoken, words evoke such meaning when, in reality, they are simple characters strung together that we have learned to assign meaning to for the purpose of expressing. But, we know there is more, of course, much much more in the power of those simple characters.

Happy Holidays Friends,

I don't know about you, but I have enjoyed, for a change, a little more quiet simplicity this holiday season. I know many of us are finding the silver linings in many things this pandemic year. The plan is to be back at it next year, so why not enjoy this season at a bit of a slower pace? However, a bit of a slower pace seems to be a struggle for many of us. We are hard-wired to believe that slowing down is unproductive, and in terms of our overall well-being, a constant pace isn't providing the most health benefit.

As Spirit living a human experience, we’ve learned that our chosen and most proficient way of communication is by speaking a language of words. This way works, but I believe that when we rely only on the language of words, there’s the potential to miss the expanded support that comes from tuning into our developed senses. As little ones, we weren’t taught beyond the words and into the language of our higher senses. In communication, we are perhaps looking at body language, how someone uses inflection in their voice, the chosen words, making eye contact, or even how firm the handshake is. All systems are firing off when using these cues to interpret further what is being communicated. We have learned to be very cerebral when it comes to our communication.

It is said that we only need 4-5 hours of physically restorative sleep per night and that in the extra time, we are plugged in, so to speak doing a number of possible additional things almost like when you put your computer to sleep. Different ages require different amounts of sleep, and for the average adult, 7-9 hours is ideal. It is hard to believe that even science doesn't fully understand the need for sleep or what consciousness is. But what it does tell us is that we make memories while we sleep.

Do you have that one friend that you reach out to when you're struggling through something? Have you thought about what makes you call that individual over another? Maybe you are that person to a friend? We all look for and appreciate that support person when we're struggling. Who is available to listen and hold you gently accountable when necessary?