MOVING INTO SPRING

I can't lie, this time last year was just a bit of a shit show. A mixture of panic, fear and confusion. I remember, Ama and I made our way to London for a meeting just before Lockdown #1 and it was...eerie. The streets were quiet and we still weren't clear on when to wear masks and when we shouldn't. I felt like a renegade as we dined in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel - a fancy renegade nonetheless! Any doubt about venturing out and conducting business as usual was made clear with the restriction that soon followed.

I know this past year has played out in varied ways for everyone. Life as we knew it stopped on many levels but at the same time, life went on, just under the haze of this pandemic.

But, we still out here...right?!

The onset of spring is so welcome right now. The way the shards of light are filtering through the still bare trees, the daffodils and crocus' emerging in the parks and gardens, giving me...growth, renewal, hope. Mother nature has personally really held me in this past year. More than ever. I'm a self proclaimed plant mama, but getting outside last year, hit differently. Forced to slow down and step out of my daily busyness meant, there was no rush to do anything. Slowing down and savouring my walks in nature provided me with space to process, to think, to be still, to re-charge and gain some clarity and in many ways, the capacity to deal with said shit show. By virtue of its inherent space and generosity, mother nature held me down when not much was. Having certainty in the seasons, gave my days a rhythm. Delighting in ombre sunsets and the sprinkling of snow we received brought joy when I'd completely rinsed Netflix and tired of all the news.

What are the things that hold space for us when we can’t hold space for ourselves?

It’s easy to be led by popular wellness practices, but let’s be real, sometimes even though those practices look good on paper or when someone else is doing it, it doesn’t light us up or necessarily feel good for us. It’s ok to like what we like, no matter how simple, whether it be watching the sun set, listening to the birds gossips, dancing like nobody's watching or having a cup of tea. As expressed in the poem Wild Geese by Mary Oliver “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

I reckon, through the process of deep listening, and letting what we love hold us, we make space for ourselves for movement, growth and clarity.

As we draw closer to the Spring Equinox and the start of Aries season , we’re well positioned for the spark of fresh starts, finding space for movement as we thaw out from the colder months, shaking off the stagnancy of winter and the past year.

Here’s to the real start of the new year and the space, movement and hope it may bring.

Leila x