Uggg, it’s November, fall has ended and we are experiencing the “in between” time before winter arrives in all its fullness. This time is filled with snow then rain with temperatures ranging from -10 to +10 and as a parent I have no idea how to dress my children for school. One of the many joys of being a parent is hoping that when my children leave for school they will not get soaked or frozen during outside time and a surrender to the fact that they will likely lose at least 1 article of clothing each day from now until January.

It is also a time when it is easy to lose sight of the present moment. I had to laugh the other day as I watched a woman in line ahead of me exclaim proudly that the cache of chocolates she was buying where for stocking stuffers. And that her stocking stuffers were for her kids who were 26 and 28 years old. I couldn’t resist explaining to her that my mom made a stocking for me and my siblings well into our 40s and how much I loved them. However the point was and I couldn’t help thinking… What? Already? Yes it’s that time and we are looking ahead to all that we need to get accomplished. It is far too easy to fall into the patterns that develop over time during this season.

In the same moments when it is perhaps easy to fall into the trap of getting ready it is also a time when we connect with each other, our friends and our families and a good time to remember the sacredness of life. All life is sacred and interconnected. It is really the awareness of this connection that brings us back into focus. We are embodied beings and movement is one of the most fundamental aspects of being alive. So one of the most basic ways we can view this is to feel the sacredness of ourselves, our movement and our connections.

We have a tendency to see sacredness as something outside of ourselves -a sacred time, a sacred building, a sacred place or something we hold as sacred. As embodied beings our very existence is sacred. Movement is the sacred language and dance that connects us and holds us together.

So in this time as I search for stocking stuffers and lost mittens I remind myself that I am sacred! The person driving slowly in front of me is also sacred, children making snowmen are engaged in sacred play and the rain that is beginning to freeze is also sacred. It changes things and I relax in my body knowing how connected I am.

Meditation for today: Go for a 15 minute walk and listen to what your body feels, sees, hears, smells and breathes.