Can You Find Softness and Stillness In Every Season?

As I sit here and take a breath, I’m in awe of my surroundings, my senses heightened. It’s summer and in the northern hemisphere, most of us are trying to squeeze in as much activity as the daylight is longer and the temperatures warmer. 

Yet, I find myself slowing down to a pace that matches the soft breeze in the trees in my backyard. This question lingers, can we find softness and stillness in every season? 

I believe we can, in fact I believe that it’s imperative that we do so. To collectively take a breath, pause and connect to our surroundings in a way that creates space. 

The women I work with often have this parallel theme, of wanting to slow down and create stillness, yet not quite knowing where to begin. 

It’s a desire they have and feel that it’s unattainable. It’s a belief that in order to soften into a slower way of being, it must look a certain way. 

Many of us have slipped into this pace of constantly moving from one thing to the next because for some, slowing down and softening is somehow seen as lazy. 

I often share with the women I guide that in order to receive the calmness they are desiring, they must create space for it to come in. We cannot find stillness in a chaotic mind. 

What I’ve found is that it simply takes intention. 

The intention to pause, take a breath and notice the surroundings. Each time we pause we create space within ourselves to soften into stillness. 

Something I see when women have the intention is they begin to unravel many of the beliefs that have kept them in the prevailing loop of overwhelm. 

Some of the beliefs that I’ve help to unravel with the women I guide-

A lack of worthiness of taking time alone

That there are not enough hours in the day to fulfil her duties as a mom/wife and her own needs

That if she stops for a moment to ‘take a break’ it’s seen as being lazy’

What I’ve found is that even with these beliefs, there is this inner wisdom that aligns more fully to the need to bring more peace and calm into everyday life. I truly believe that each soul has a deep desire that can override the conditions of society and bring each of us back to a flow state of softness, slowness and peace within our hearts. 

Xo Ashley

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