Hi lovely Reader, and welcome to the first Connect, Create, Resonate of 2023!
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I'm aware that I’ve been quiet on here over the past month or so, but I've still been thinking of you and how you are doing.

So, how are you, and how was your Christmas?

Sometimes you simply need to take your own advice and HIT PAUSE.

I have had some challenging relational stuff to navigate, you know - the stuff of life, but the energy taken up by the pain and sadness of it all has used a lot of my emotional and mental energy, and along with what has felt like a permanent run of sickness (we also had the flu over the whole Christmas break, which was pretty frustrating,), 2022 left me feeling somewhat burnt out.

I am in a healthy, if somewhat raw space, but the decision to pull back for a bit to honour my own mental and physical health, seemed like a running towards rather than a running away. Hence why you haven’t heard from me. I am inordinately grateful for your support and interest in what I write and make, although as I don't presume to be at the forefront of your mind, if you didn't notice the lack of emails, it's all good!

HOWEVER, it really got me thinking about how I always seem to need to hibernate over these wintery months - and yet every year in late November, it once again catches me by surprise. I feel like the carpet of time rolls up at the same speed that my energy and impetus is winding down.
Yet despite this pattern, I think as with many things in life, it can be easy to assume that something is a one off, or 'just how I feel this year', when actually our bodies and souls are trying repeatedly to get our attention and court a loving response.

Does this sound familiar?

Perhaps you think that the reason you always get sick at the same time each year is simply because of the weather - and it honestly might be - but could it also be because you historically cram lots in, or always have a ton of birthdays/work deadlines/expectations (real and perceived) to live up to, and then find yourself worn out a month later, and keep missing the connection between how hard you have been going at life, even on good things, and that drained, rundown feeling?

I know that I can take ages to recognise these patterns at any rate.

However, joy of joys, this year I finally spotted it!
AND I am excited to say that I have decided that for the foreseeable future years, I shall deliberately roll up any business/writing/podcasting activities by the first week of December, and choose to let my 'fields of productivity lie fallow' until February.

Because in the winter, I need to hibernate - at least from the push of productivity!
So I'll be interested to see how those two months off will affect my creativity and output over the rest of the year.

I will also try to pay attention to where else in the year, I may notice the need to slow things down a little.

Now I realise that, depending on your work/family commitments, you may not be able to stop working altogether for two months together. In reality, neither will I - I have my family life to continue working at, and not many bosses are likely to grant two solid months of annual leave.
However, I do think we have more agency than we often realise, and perhaps with a little creative attention, you may be able to choose to step back from ALL THE THINGS in order to focus on the one (or at most two things) that matter the most.

Choosing to let go of any external pressure to perform, and instead giving ourselves permission to engage with only those things we are truly drawn to, is a liberating idea that I am playing around with more and more. It won't mean that I never exert myself on behalf of others, but that by really accepting that I always have a choice, I will still feed my family, even when I am tired, because their health and comfort truly matter to me.

So as we welcome in 2023, I invite you to take some time to reflect on where you are, to notice if there are any patterns to seasons that always leave you wiped out.
And if so, what can you give yourself permission to let go of, in order to truly choose what matters to you in the here and now?

Quote - Unquote

All The Work

You can find my body of Writing and all the Podcasts so far at cassiehubert.com, but new podcasts and any, more regular blogging or social media posting, will gradually resume in February - but you will be the first to know.

Blessing

As 2023 begins to unfurl in your life -
May you give yourself the grace to ease in gently,
allowing yourself to take small, slow steps,
towards continuing your self-care and growth.
May you allow yourself the delight of noticing things which lift your spirits,
May your tiredness be greeted with a kind invitation to stretch your body, and welcome your heart and mind into a new day.
And may you know that you do not need a ‘New You’ - just to learn to love more lavishly, on the you, you already are.

Because as you are - you are deeply beloved.

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With love, Cassie x

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