Recently
It’s late for a February recap but things rolled over into March and here we are, a February+ recap.
The days are getting milder temperature-wise, and noticeably longer too. The green things are coming through the earth. Buds showing themselves. These little nubs, some of them quite fuzzy and cute. Spring sure starts of slushy and brown on the edges…but there is no better teacher than Spring on the generosity of life.
Looking back, it feels kinda good to see that some big boxes got checked in the last month and a half, that things are well, on track and moving.
Taxes — this Big Boring but Necessary Thing got checked in February. This was my first submission with the CRA. It was a little nerve-wracking, though in the end, after intermittent research, it wasn’t too nauseating an experience. It was made rather straightforward by one of those nifty tax submission tools.
We found our next place of residence, which is great news. We’re looking very much forward to our moderately-sized move in less than two weeks. All that’s left is the packing to do. Packing has always been quite the chore for me, and having to juggle that on top of work…yikes. I’m looking forward to a change of air, a different kind of day, moving more and feeding myself well without being squeezed, getting in touch again with a culture that is different from here and probably much more familiar to me. All of this summed up seems to point to a certain promise of better health. Being more well.
My days have felt quite wrapped around my working hours mostly. I made the transition to a 4-day work week at the beginning of the year. This means an extra hour of work each day, thereabouts, and that additional hour sure makes the days feel longer! That said, reclaiming that extra day for the weekend has felt extra good. Some people are able to switch from work to rest, from solitude to social/camaraderie things (or any other polarities you can think of), but for me this takes quite awhile. Come end-of-day Friday, I take awhile to snap out of the rush into full rest. If I’m lucky, the whole of Saturday feel easeful and restful, not merely in recovery. Sometimes Monday robs my Sunday of rest; I find myself preparing mentally and emotionally for the week ahead. So, three days of rest has been quite the sweet spot, I feel recharged on Mondays + I find myself more focused and motivated while working + at the end of Thursday I feel like I’ve put in a good amount of honest work and am ready to take my well-deserved rest. It’s a good place to be in.
February was also the month I started eating meat again for the first time in the last 3-4 years. It was also the first time in my life that I purchased meat on my own (learning about the different these cuts available, what a pound of meat looks like and how many meals that might make), how to store it safely, and how to cook it in a way that honours what was taken. The process took quite a fair amount of contemplation, and perhaps I might share about it some time down the road. Perhaps perhaps!
In other news, I signed up for a self-care online course two weeks ago by the Tul’ix Indigenous Arts. The approach is based on bodywork and spiritual healing practices in the tradition of Don Elijio Panti of Belize, as passed down by Dr. Rosita Arvigo. I went into it wanting to learn more about Mayan Abdominal Massage which I’ve read a little of but can’t seem to find much information offered freely (or credibly). I had gone in wanting to resolve some physical issues, thought I might leave with some techniques in the bag, and what happened was having my expectations exceeded in more ways than I can imagine. I learnt about Mayan approaches to health, plant medicine, anatomy, and the spiritual and emotional dimensions to healing. I shouldn’t be surprised by this really…the physical healing of the body isn’t divorced from the emotional or spiritual health of the individual. Of course! I was surprised, really, to find myself here on the other end of the course, feeling a dormant fire being stoked around healing and bodywork. I’m currently chasing down threads and going down rabbit holes that I thought I’ve abandoned years ago. Sometimes incidences like that happen — we come full circle to meet the thing we were once so intimately acquainted with and feel the insides stirring again.