Advent Week 4: Stillness

How has your spirit been this Advent season? Have you given yourself space to ponder the COMING HOPE, the celebration of a birth that would change the world? 

So much of life can feel like rushing from one thing to the next. So this week, in the midst of holiday preparations, traveling, or rushing to finish projects before the end of the year, we’d like to suggest an intentional practice of savoring rituals that we hope will help this Christmas week be a richer and more grounded time. 

“The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… .What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance.

So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.”

– Jan L. Richardson, Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas

CREATE A SAVORING RITUAL

1. Write down the daily activities that bring you pleasure.
2. Choose two activities that you might usually rush through and be intentional to fully immerse yourself in those activities. Avoid any distractions and work to be fully present (i.e. put away your phone, engage your senses, notice what you feel, hear, taste, etc.) Pay attention to what you savor about this activity, and try to practice this multiple times in the coming week. 
3. At the end of the week, take some time to record your reflections on this new ritual.
   1. Write down the positive emotions you experienced.
   2. Which positive emotions did you notice most consistently through this exercise?
   3. Have you noticed more positive emotions compared to your typical week?
   4. While savoring your chosen moments, did you feel your attention shifting away from the exercise? If so, what actions did you take to return your focus to the positive event?

You can find this exercise & more at: https://positivepsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Gratitude-Give-Away-complete-booklet.pdf

May you find moments in the coming week to savor joy, and in the coming of the Child.