A Letter From Love

These have been heavy days for many of us this January – dark, cold and oppressive. We have been watching the growing turbulence and horrors in the world order and carrying this sense of deep dis-ease which has left many of us feeling strangely off balance and needing greater nurturing this month. 
 
I’ve observed my use of darker paint colours, juxtaposed alongside extremes of warm and tender hues; my subconscious forcing these extremes to exist together. 
 
Staying in a place of hope and inner balance will require real focus and a constant checking-in with ourselves, to monitor how we’re doing and what we need in order to stay buoyant and engaged with the here and now, not just hiding under the duvet. 

Recently I’ve been using a practice that’s been massively helpful and I can honestly say that it’s been a wonderful guard-rail since Christmas. It’s a daily practice that the author, Liz Gilbert, has been doing for 25 years and she calls it, Letters from Love. Each day Liz asks LOVE, “What would you have me know today?” And then she writes a reply to herself, from LOVE. 
 
So, today I’m going to share my letter from love, written a few days ago. This is what love had to say to me…
 
“My tender one, I see how sensitive you are to the seasons. This winter has closed you down and pulled you deep into yourself. 
That’s ok. 
We all have periods like this. You are Wintering – a time of reflection and introversion.
Look at what nature is doing, it’s digging deep, holding steady and staying resilient. You do the same!
January can’t be like June or September. Take it for what it is, and next month too. 
They are both ‘cruel’ months and they need managing and leaning into. Relax. Breath more mindfully. Accept. Believe in a bigger story that’s being prepared.
And drink hot chocolate, make delicious stews, read by the fire in the evening, dream (it’s ok to dream big), play table tennis, paint, walk and allow a fresh kind of peace to find you.
Listen, everyone is going through their own version of this heavy time. Use it to speak loving kindness into your soul. 
And find ways to laugh more and discover beauty in hidden places.
And remember, I am with you. 
Love from LOVE”
 

All art comes from love – love of doing something…
It’s love that drives us on against the current

Jerry Saltz

Love Jane x

PS I’m really enjoying reading
Wintering - The power of rest and retreat in difficult times
by Katherine May