I am excited and looking forward to our first major storm expected in about a week. I’m hoping for multiple days and many inches of snow. We’ve already fallen behind on snowfall having had only two snowfalls of 1-1.25 inches. The snow is the pretty side of cold weather and I look forward to it painting the landscape. Although I enjoy all forms of precipitation, snow is the most magical type.

This is the time of year for resolutions and there appears to be a little momentum of energy. This is caused by the collective energy that has been influenced by marketing. I still honor this time of stillness and observe mindfulness because many times this energy is short-lived due to a lack of roots. When we manifest our new US or allow our authentic US to emerge, we need a good root system. This root system is grown during a rest period. By honoring the natural circle of life we can establish strong roots. This is the perfect time to observe stillness, rejuvenate, and dream with potentially some light planning about how to become our most authentic selves.

This doesn’t mean we don’t take advantage of the Capricorn seasonal energy. We just do it at a lighter pace. Take for example you want to be more organized with meal planning, eating out, and streamlining meals for after work. Sit down and use Pinterest to seek out new recipes, and get children/significant others involved with picking out dinner and helping to cook it. Find food bloggers on YouTube and social media. Follow them for new recipes. I print out and keep notes on recipes that we like and can easily do a quick meal-planning session in 15 minutes because we have tried so many recipes. Group plan with other extroverted friends monthly!!

Utilize grocery ordering and pickup, and get Amazon involved. Amazon has a subscribe and save which allows up to 15% off a monthly order of 5 things. I easily find 5 things to order each month. They have grocery options too. There are many more online grocery services available.

Give yourself take-out meal nights. Incorporate a weekly bulk meal cooking day. My daughters do their weekly cooking on Sundays. I like to have my Sunday as my total rest day so I do my cooking Friday or Saturday. To avoid end-of-the-week exhaustion I could move my bulk cooking to a Tuesday. Shop on Monday for the week. Cook and assemble meals. Use bento boxes for healthy portions. Grocery stores and clubs have premade food ready to heat and serve. This is another fast meal option for busy families. Subscribe to a meal planning service. Find what works for your family/self and honor your intuitive side.

Even though this sounded like a lot of planning(and ideas) we are honoring the gradual change or assembling our ideas and dreams for later integration. So avoid the idea of overwhelming yourself. Pick one to two things to try to add to your routine or just spend this time vision planning in your head. I haven’t even sat down with my Vision board for a few weeks yet.

I ordered a couple of things so I can try to make homemade dumplings/pelmini, and grabbed a tofu press, and an air fryer. This month I am learning how to make dumplings and try some nice tofu marinades. I am also gathering stickers and supplies for my journals and planners that I keep for the year. In a few weeks, after the storm blasts through here, I will likely sit down and lay out my Vision for this 8th year of prosperity and the sharing of wisdom learned in the previous years.

Rev. Laura Cullen

Art by Lucy Grossmith