A Winter Call for Resilience
Find strength in intuition & expression
Dear Friend,
To all of our readers in the Los Angeles area: I send my deepest prayers for your protection and comfort.
I had selected this week’s theme–Resilience–a few weeks ago when organizing our winter prompts…but this week, our inner search for resilience feels even more urgent.
Our intuition and inner wisdom offer each of us a unique source of resilience to call on, to express and to offer one another.
May this process of expressive writing open a door to your resilience to guide you through the coming week.
Almost a year ago, on my son George’s 21st birthday, he moved to a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities. His move was one of the hardest things I have ever done and also that George has done. In addition to almost a year of planning, visiting and endless paperwork, it required an inordinate amount of trust in such an enormous transition.
George’s move came in the middle of winter, on a cold and snowy day. On the morning of his move, I went to this river to ask for guidance and support. This is the place where I meditated and prayed.
It’s not a beautiful blue river on a bright, sunny day. But in the river’s dark water, the grey sky, the frozen rocks beside it, I felt held by an unspeakable kind of spirit.
As I asked for strength by this river, the river gave me strength.
My strength may have given my son his strength that day. And then my son’s strength gave me strength.
Sources of resilience are all around us, I believe. And we can share them with each other.
Writing Practice: Set aside 5-7 minutes for this practice. Write in a journal or open a ‘Journey with The Seasons’ document where you can return each Sunday.
Prompt: Alex Elle writes
there will be moments when you will bloom fully and then wilt, only to bloom again. if we can learn anything from flowers it is that resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying.
Here are a few choices to explore in your writing today:
Think of a place or an element of nature that comes to mind that feels like a source of resilience. Maybe my story about the river made you think of an ocean or a lake. Maybe it’s a tree or an animal.
Describe that place or part of nature. Talk to it. Thank it for offering your resilience. Your place or element may also want to write some words back to you.
OR…maybe there’s an object in your home that symbolizes resilience. It could be something special that was given to you or that you found, that felt like something you needed.
Write about this object that has helped you to get through difficult things.
OR…maybe Alex Elle’s words really resonated with you.
Write about where you find yourself in that endless cycle of blooming and dying. What are you letting go of? What is coming to life in your world?
I would love to read your expressions. Feel free to comment below or use the messaging app to reach me.
Spiritual Practice for the week ahead: Keep at it! When you have moments that feel hard to get through, imagine a source of resilience is beside you, near you, within you. Each time you imagine it, the source of resilience may take different forms. Journal about what you find.
Wishing you a week of feeling nurtured and loved through whatever life sends your way. With love, Gabrielle Ariella
Hey Friends!!!! FREE RESILIENCE EVENT on MLK night! Respond here for link.
At our Winter Solstice Circle, we decided this would be a great night to write in community. Join us & invite a friend.
and even more fun!
Tuesdays, February 4, 11, 18 & 25, 7:00-8:15PM EST/ $90
Rejuvenate and replenish your creative spirit as we transition into the final stretch of winter! The long, dark nights can fuel our dreams and imagination, providing us with the opportunity to delve into our inner worlds and pour our thoughts onto the page.
Whether you’re dealing with a creative block or looking to enhance your creative energy, you’ll discover fun and easy ways to spark your imagination and get those creative juices flowing!
Register here. ‘Journey with the Seasons’ subscribers special offer! Take $7 off registration fee with this code: EFYY8GNA
Scholarship always available. All sessions recorded for your convenience.