Preparing for the time of rest

This time of year always finds me pulled in two directions - in one, the holidays are upon us and there's frantic energy put towards preparing for family visits, cooking for friends and decorating the house inside and out -- and on the other hand, the seasons tell us this is the time for rest, reflection and stillness. Quite the dichotomy.

How to fit both halves of my life into one life - hurriedly decorate while sitting in still contemplation. I need to clone myself. Each year I struggle with this - I have pledged my life to my faith, which strongly dictates this as the season of rest. The trees are dormant, the animals are slumbering, the flowers have retreated into the dark soil of the earth, to rest until Spring.

And yet there are bills to be paid, jobs to do and so much more. I remind myself each morning, to take a slower pace, to move with deliberateness, not swiftness. To think all things through, not act on impulse. I am attempting to teach myself to live my life with the wheel, to match my energy to the energy of the Mother. To find balance in the season and meaning in the theme of rest and reflection.