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From Stuck To Solitude

By on March 17, 2014
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By Nicole Moorey

Winter continues – the season of seclusion, stillness, and silence.  Mine has been one of the longest, coldest and snowiest in years.  I know this intimately as I’ve spent time outside every day.  It’s actually been nice.  Even before Winter Solstice, I found that daily time outdoors had become second nature to me and that I could sustain this practice for a lifetime.  I also realized that if the first half of the year was spent pursuing nature with empowerment, the next 6 months was for pursing empowerment with nature.  My work on the outside was done and it was now time to focus my attention inward.

So how has it been going?

 

I’m as stuck as a school bus on a snow day.

I’m as slow as my engine in the morning.

I’m as frozen as the great Lake Superior.

 

Am I the only one?  Have you found yourself at a similar standstill?  I had many empowered plans for this winter.  Instead, my mind has been a blizzard of creative diversions, dreamy distractions and educational interruptions.  I’ve been waist deep in good intentions, but can’t seem to dig myself out.

This is a different stuck than I’ve been in the past.  There have been times when I didn’t know how to move forward, so I had to learn.  This time I know what I need to do.  So much so that as a creative diversion, I created an acronym on how to thaw frozen momentum.

 

Meaningful direction  – Align with your values and narrow your priorities.

Eliminate distraction  – Maintain your boundaries and resist competing goals.

Love yourself   – Remember your value and celebrate your journey.

Take time  – Develop a time-line and take daily action.

 

Yet still I struggle to make progress.  For two months I’ve stressed about why this is so.  Finally, the stars aligned . . .

Like most nights this winter, I’m out for a walk.  Like most nights, it’s dark, -35°C and striking.  The deep, starry sky is my temple of knowing.  I hear the crunch of my feet on the snow.  I feel the burning cold on my thighs.  My hearing is muffled by layered wool.  My sight is framed by frosty eyelashes.  I notice my inhale. I notice my exhale.  It’s too cold for extraneous thoughts.  It’s my act of extreme self-care, my mobile mindfulness meditation.  This is my space. This is my solitude.

This is my personal winter.  I finally understand – I’m not stuck!  I’m simply enjoying my perfectly timed solitude.  Although I had big plans for getting things done, it turns out I needed to hibernate.  Mother Nature has this all figured out.  After a year of personal adventures and growth, it’s no wonder I need to rest.

 

Solitude restores our inner peace.  Solitude is our compassionate companion.  Solitude is our warm reprieve from stuck.

 

Where do you find your solitude?  You don’t have to find it in the deep freeze.  Perhaps you’re a creative type whose world is still when you deeply connect with your craft.  Maybe while engaged in athletic pursuits, nothing comes between you and your sport.  Perhaps as you soak in the tub, your thoughts evaporate and you are solitary.  Wherever you find your tranquillity, go there often and enjoy!

And in what area of life do you deserve to hibernate, or at least let yourself breathe?  Where will you allow some physical, mental, emotional and spiritual space?  “Now is the winter of my discontent,” and may it be so for you too.  Together, let’s put our self-judgement about being stuck to bed, and curl up by the cozy fire of solitude (after half an hour outside of course)!

 

Yours outdoors,

Nicole

P.S. For previous highlights of my adventures in nature, see: post 1, post 2 and post 3.

 

NicoleBenettNicole Moorey invites her backyard and backcountry sisters to reconnect with nature while living more joyful, healthy and fulfilling lives.  Through daily dates with nature, she’s creating an empowered life for herself and sharing snapshots of insight along the way: www.facebook.com/NicolewithNature.  Nicole studies personal empowerment with the S.W.A.T. Institute has mobilized thousands of people to help one another for 15 years as a Volunteer Administrator and enjoys adventures with her family in majestic Northwestern Ontario.

 

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