The post Christmas slump - what void are you really trying to fill?
In the post Christmas slump you can spot people desperately looking for something, anything to occupy their time. Going to the sales used to be the big pull, people queuing up on Boxing Day morning, even camping in line, looking for a bargain. Were there bargains to be had? Sure. Was that the main point of going to the sales? I don’t think so. After the big build up to Christmas of what you should have, provide and give people were still on an emotional peak. There is a craving to stay there. To feel that you have achieved the perfect Christmas and the perfect year. Especially if you spend time on Pinterest or instagram. In this quieter in between time reality threatens to hit, unless you push it to one side with buying, planning holidays or doing “exciting” things or vegging in front of the tv watching programmes as addictive as the chocolates you ate and just average enough not to offend anyone. Dull Dull Dull.
Going to the sales is not really about the bargains, it is about avoiding the reality of your life. That can be that you really don’t have enough money and need to buy essentials in the sales. This is less and less these days with the propensity for cheap clothes and household items from so many sources. Sales shopping puts you into a crowd again, a crowd who provide a mirror on how you “should” feel. It is like an emotional magnet. Then there is the materialistic culture we live in. What if you don’t have the latest black skirt, pair of jeans, tv, handbag etc.? LIke it actually matters. All of it is sucking up your time and energy so that you do not have to consider the void in your world. Where you feel empty, devoid of direction, unable to be certain of what you even want, even if a fairy godmother were to descend and grant your one major wish.
Lets start there - what do you really want? First one right now and then another wish for future you. The rules (sometimes parameters are needed even though I’m a big believer in going with the flow) are that the wish cannot hurt others and must be of some kind of benefit to you personally. I say this as it is easy to wish for world peace or to end poverty, it is much more difficult to consider your own hopes and desires. We have been programmed out of it. To switch this into elemental language, our water (feelings) have been hijacked to feel outrage, and to follow the leader without independent consideration. Our air (thoughts and communication) have been corralled into what is and isn’t appropriate, driven by the narrative in the media you read and use. Our earth (resources and sense of belonging) have been undermined by tales of upheaval and conflict. Our fire (hope, willpower and creativity) have been quenched through being told we must put others first and that you cannot do something different, that you have no time.
So going back to the quest for today - what would you like to have happen today that would make a difference?
Then, what would you like to have happen in the future or over a period of time that would make a difference?
I’ll go first. Hmm, this might take a little while, even for me.
I’d like to take a bath with candles whilst listening to something interesting. This will calm my nervous system and body and replenish my energy so that I have more to give to others.
Longer term, lets make it a bigger one. I’d like to finish writing my book and have it published so that I can give it to people who don’t yet know how to listen to and manage the elements of themselves and build a life a flow and ease.
The longer term part was easier for me. How about you? Perhaps that is because I have managed to build a lifestyle which really suits me. I still have ups and downs but they are pretty small.
Kind of like this. Most other people that I know have bigger dramas and less “luck” than I do. Quote marks added as I believe that luck is part created and part destiny.
Christmas tends to be at the furthest extent of a peak, whether a top or a bottom for people. For those of you at the top you want to keep it in the easiest possible way. For those of you at the bottom, there is (hopefully) only one way - up. Keeping life ticking along with mostly ups can be challenging if you don’t understand what creates the fluctuations and the power that you have over this. Quiet times give you time and space to think and consider your choices. This can be mighty scary, especially if you have tended to follow the status quo of what is expected of you rather than ploughing your own furrow and being individual making conscious choices.
I invite you to take some time to consider different areas of your life and how they have turned out as they have. How about your work? Did you fall into it or is it something you followed your passions to? Moving into something you love indicates a flow of elements. How about your relationships, are they balanced, where you feel heard and safe, where you can be all elements of you or do you have to fit into a mould or wear a mask with some people? Our sense of belonging and self trust (earth) plus our fears and feelings (water) tend to shape our relationships. What about your finances and possessions, do you stockpile money and need more and more or do you spend spend spend? Spending or hoarding indicates an imbalance in earth.
Life is a state of flux, changing all the time, so what is balanced right now may not be in an hour or tomorrow. Balancing your elemental state is not a once and done kind of thing, it is a way of being. A simple framework which helps you to quickly spot an issue and to self regulate. It helps you to use all of the knowledge you have in practical ways. You also tune in to your more subtle senses like intuition and heart wisdom to dig deeper and to harmonise how you are. Not to dull your senses but to light them up. As you witness new information streams your life becomes magical, luminous. This is the way things are heading. Away from the material things and into sensation and experience. This is where the magic of harmony across cultures and countries will come from. Will you join me for the ride of your life?
Take a quiz to find out your current elemental balance:
https://helen-prpya7c1.scoreapp.com
If you would like to explore your elemental self, from what makes you you to how to harness the elements within you for greater enjoyment and fulfillment take a look at my 30 day Elemental Immersion. All online and 1:1 designed to suit your personality and where you are right now, click this link for more information.
