It’s been a year… of situations, events, learnings, transformations, discoveries, challenges, failures, successes and a whole host of wonderful people.
So why am I talking about it like its over, when it’s only October?
This is the end of the spiritual year if one follows the Wheel of the Year, with Samhain being the final Sabbat celebrating all who have passed over (more commonly known as Halloween) and in that the passing of life, the year and the acknowledgment of that.
This is swiftly followed by the churches way to combat the darkness and “evil” of Halloween with All Saints day.
However, I see that as the reminder not to dwell solely in the darkness but to continue moving on into the next cycle of life. Remembering those who have passed but also seeing it as a type of darkness that brings about the beginning of a new cycle of growth - like when a seed is planted deep into the soil, in the dark, unseen and covered over.
We plant bulbs at this time of year knowing that they will take to the soil and begin their process of softening and sending out roots and shoots ready to emerge when the cycles of the seasons dictate, knowing that in the darkness and the ending, is the promise of the new beginning.
This time of year can seem draining and depleting if one is still trying to push the growth cycle and be in the flowering stage all the time, trying to please with the beauty of excessive foliage and flowers. When, really, it is a time of letting go of what is not needed in the months ahead and allowing the cycle of down time and darkness and introspection to flourish as it must in the cycle of all things.
Of course if you are in the southern hemisphere you will be entering the spring cycle and so this will not be entirely relevant to you right now, but the power and importance of the seasonal cycles if not to be ignored, whichever hemisphere you find yourself in.
When I worked in the fitness industry this time of year was a commonly believed ‘quiet time’ for picking up new personal training clients due to the seasonal effect on people as they retreated in doors more easily and covered their bodies with winter attire, not needing to be so aware of how they were shaping up in shorts.
I would often hear the reasoning that people didn’t want to pay out for unnecessary luxuries like personal training at a time when they could get away with covering up with many layers of clothing instead. And also had to budget their money for Christmas and the new school terms.
So in October/ November, many instructors would accept the quiet time and get most of their learning and courses in as they prepared for the New year - New You, resolutions to kick in come the 1st of January.
While it was considered a quiet time for instructors picking up new clients, the people running the Fitness training courses knew that this time of year was their BUSY time.
And so the cycle of all things continued like the ebb and the flow of tides.
The instructors who were doing their underground growing, being tended by the facilitators of the training courses, were waiting on the people who were nurturing their family commitments and growing those areas, so that come the right moment the cycle of life could begin again.
What I learned from this was that this time of year – the autumn and early winter - is actually the time to nurture clients, help them stay rooted in the ground, soften and extend shoots into the ground to anchor themselves and feel safe that the darkness they are experiencing is NOT a death but merely a time of growth that has no visible foliage – YET!
The trouble with trying to start the whole new cycle and shove oneself into new soil in January (mid winter) - like planting your bulbs too late and then expecting them to be ok come the springtime - is that the ground is too cold. The conditions for the planting cycle are not conducive to taking action on new ideas and expecting to see them grow then and there.
Think about your commitments, work load, family life and even your body clock in January (July / August if you are southern hemisphere).
You are paying back Christmas – financially and physically. Too much eating and too much spending take their toll in the end.
You are recovering from the emotional expectations of the festive season.
You are managing family illnesses and possibly your own coughs and colds that come with the winter season.
The long nights are telling your body clock that you should be resting more.
And all too often the cyclical nature of the year is ignored and there is this crazy PUSH for growth and achievement come the first of January…
** EYE ROLL **
In my attempt to get people to nurture themselves, plant the seeds of ideas and dreams now while the soil is ready for those long term ‘ bulbs’ of change, prior to the crazy resolution season – I have come up with my version of a ‘COURSE’ to help facilitate this learning and nurturing period of the year.
I know it doesn’t sound like a course or a program of sorts – but since when do I ever do anything the way that other people do?!?!? I have seen and been to so many conferences, seminars and trainings that give a whole heap of information and instruction only to end up remaining in the note book or manual they were recorded in.
Being the kinesthetic learner that I am - I NEED TO EXPERIMENT AND TRY something out for it to become a learning that I can feel throughout the whole of me. To experience what is being shared and taught in a way that not only brings it to life for me but also allows me to process it and play around with it. Like trying it on for size or being able to pull it apart and have a look inside to see how it really works.
The Playcation Roadshow has been born out of the desire for EVERYONE to have the chance to play around with the ideas, dreams and thoughts they have had rumbling around inside them, perhaps for years.
The desire is for every Roadshow experience to be an interactive, creative, thought provoking and inspiring space for those ideas to finally be taken off the shelf and planted. Not just in a way that is ambiguous or haphazard, but with clarity, confidence and courage to know that those ‘bulbs’ will grow and flower and be damn gorgeous.
Rather than putting your ideas, dreams and plans back on the shelf at this time, with the thought that you will just wait for the new year to start on them, because you are kind of busy and quite tired from a busy summer – think about the bulbs that need planting now and NOT in January. Now is the time to allow those ideas to be planted in your heart and mind and know that the care and attention you give them at this seeding and planning stage will pay off in the springtime.
Now I am not a master gardener by any stretch of the imagination, but I am a damn intuitive catalyst for change and what we, The Playcation Experience bring is the joyful anticipation of just blooming trying something and seeing what happens.
Because there are way too many naysayers, critics and experts out there who will tell you that you have to do things in very particular ways (usually their way!) - we have chosen to be chirpy cheerleaders for change. Getting alongside people, hearing their ideas, dreams and passions and encouraging and inspiring them to trust their deep down knowing of what is right for them... AND THEN to just plant the frikkin bulbs already so that the growth can start!
- If you’ve got an idea brewing inside you
- If you’ve a sense that something needs to change for you (especially if you’ve had it for a while)
- If you really really really don’t want to be in the same place you are in right now, this time next year
- If you have started moving towards your dreams and goals but have been faltering and doubting each step you take
- If you keep second guessing where and how you have planted previous ideas
- If you just want to see some colour and vibrancy grow in your life
- If you feel like no one will understand or support that ‘thing’ you have in your heart to do and be
- If you want to do your ‘THING’ in a lighter, brighter and more fun way so that you don’t end up loathing it and wanting to run away to Mexico instead
Please, Please, Please trust your gut, listen to your heart and follow those random thoughts you have.
(If you have read this far then I know that you do have random thoughts that you often wish you had listened to in hindsight!!! Those who don’t probably stopped reading at the bulbs analogy.)
You already do know what your dreams and desires are and from here on trusting YOUR WAY to PLAY is your best bet from getting those to grow into the gorgeous garden (we call it a playground) that is your life.
