Welcome to The Wildroot Parables weekly discussions! This is where we can come together as a community and have real talk with one another: open, honest, gracious, and curious.
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Thank you for entering this space with care!
On Monday, our devotional was all about the tension between the societal, cultural view of January as “the new year” and the story our own bodies often tell: that January is still winter, and we are still in need of rest, restoration, and time to go slow.
Today, let’s discuss that tension. Do you approach January as the new year (it’s perfectly fine if you do!) or do you struggle with seeing “newness” in the middle of winter? How does that manifest in your life? Do you set resolutions for yourself, or do you find other ways to navigate yearly goals?
While I appreciate a fresh “reset” after the holidays (autumn is an intensely busy month at my job, which leads straight into the holidays which can feel chaotic in their own way).... and I love being back to routine....I have found over the years just getting back to a state of normalcy is resolution enough. It’s a time to rest after harvest & holidays. I used to feel the pressure to start new habits but the truth is I find it a time to get back to old habits I miss that serve me well.
I tend to view the new year season as a well timed fresh start. By the end of the year I am usually so burdened with regrets I am grateful for an opportunity to forget it all and think about what lessons I have learned and what I will do differently. I used to charge into each new year thinking "this is going to be different!" and after a few years of things...not being different, I decided to approach resolutions a little more cautiously.
The Catholic Church, I have found, structures this time well. The liturgical new year begins with Advent, which is a season of preparation ahead of the Nativity--so the liturgical year begins with "getting ready" and then jumps into the joyful Christmastide, then we get a few weeks of ordinary time before going back into another season of preparation--Lent. Lent leads us right into spring, warm weather, sunny days--so it naturally lends my thought a sense of blooming, of coming up and out--dare I say, even a resurrection.
In short, it feels like my preparation receives a little reward in Christmas, and then the Church bends to the task of preparing for Easter--so my resolutions evolve into penances before they sprout into habits and bloom into lifestyle changes.
While I appreciate a fresh “reset” after the holidays (autumn is an intensely busy month at my job, which leads straight into the holidays which can feel chaotic in their own way).... and I love being back to routine....I have found over the years just getting back to a state of normalcy is resolution enough. It’s a time to rest after harvest & holidays. I used to feel the pressure to start new habits but the truth is I find it a time to get back to old habits I miss that serve me well.
I tend to view the new year season as a well timed fresh start. By the end of the year I am usually so burdened with regrets I am grateful for an opportunity to forget it all and think about what lessons I have learned and what I will do differently. I used to charge into each new year thinking "this is going to be different!" and after a few years of things...not being different, I decided to approach resolutions a little more cautiously.
The Catholic Church, I have found, structures this time well. The liturgical new year begins with Advent, which is a season of preparation ahead of the Nativity--so the liturgical year begins with "getting ready" and then jumps into the joyful Christmastide, then we get a few weeks of ordinary time before going back into another season of preparation--Lent. Lent leads us right into spring, warm weather, sunny days--so it naturally lends my thought a sense of blooming, of coming up and out--dare I say, even a resurrection.
In short, it feels like my preparation receives a little reward in Christmas, and then the Church bends to the task of preparing for Easter--so my resolutions evolve into penances before they sprout into habits and bloom into lifestyle changes.