Inside us there is something that has no name, that something is what we are. ― José Saramago
Today I want to talk about what we can’t see, what we can’t hold between our hands and what’s impossible to touch but has been there all along. The unspoken, what’s underneath, behind, in front. What helps us to stand still and what brings us down to our knees. What we pray for. Some people call it magic. Others call it energy or the Universe. Lately, I’ve been calling it: People. To be more precise family and friendship. Sometimes I call this thing silence, my own practice. Other times I call this thing work, a long walk or a meal. A sweet memory. This thing that keeps changing and we can’t quite name but it’s in the ordinary, in the details and in the big moments. It's inside of us and in between our relationships. Since most of my work here is an invitation for us to slow down, for the last month of year I want to extend the invitation of slowness around what is subtle, what has many meanings, what comes in different forms but ultimately supports us and carries us through on a daily basis. The invitation to pause to celebrate and savor the life inside and surrounding us. What happens when we pay close attention to the invisible? To this thing that has many names and forms? To what we take for granted? What happens when don't skip over and we stay with it all for a little longer?
Last December, I sent this newsletter and together with it a list of questions to help you reflect on the year that had passed. In case you want to create some space to contemplate on 2022 and the arrival of a new year, here they are again:
1-Who did you want close to you this year? Who are you looking forward to having near next year?
2-What was hard or difficult or challenging for you this year? What did you discover in it?
3-What moments filled your heart, with joy, tenderness or contentment?
4-Is there a part of you that needs you to pay close attention to? What does this part need from you?
5-What is sparking your attention and you want to follow?
6-What are the questions you pursued and which are you still holding close to you?
7-If you close your eyes, what smell, taste, image, sound do you want to take away with you from 2022?
8-What are you looking forward to opening your arms to and receiving in the new year?
9- In which ways did you surprise yourself this year?
10-If you were to send a new year's love note to a friend but instead wrote to yourself, what would you say?
I wish you a restful holiday season. I’ve been writing this newsletter for 4 years and I’m really grateful for your continuous presence here.
With love,
Mariana
TO READ, LISTEN, WATCH, REFLECT
As always, you can access all meditation recordings here. I made a playlist of Tibetan Singing Bowls
1- A practice for going beyond our stories
2- My worries have worries by Laura Villareal
3- Ursula Le Guin on growing older
4- The crises won't stop coming. Radical acceptance is the key to coping
5- Why do narcissists find conspiracy theories so appealing?
6- This podcast about Cuban American Artist Ana Mandieta, her work and tragic death is very important
7- Audre Lorde on turning fear into fire
8- The power of women: a conversation between Iranian journalist Shiva Akhavan Rad and Elena Ferrante
9- The power of silence
10- It's winter in the north hemisphere: A new episode of slow radioand this stew.
Our free monthly gathering will be back in January of 2023. See you then!
If you are curious about my work and in which capacities I can better support you, here's more info:
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"It's a joy to be hidden, but a disaster not to be found"
- D.W. Winnicott