Getting through January

In Australia January is the month when heat takes over, a lot of usual activities and businesses take a break, the hectic pace of Christmas is over and the children are on a long school break. Some of my clients in the past would report that this time of the year was difficult to endure and they felt lonely and isolated.

But there are some things that can help us to survive this month, and some opportunities that can be taken up in this less busy time.

Cultivate being

Life needs to be a balance between being and doing, and this month provides an opportunity to build more times of “being” into our lives before “doing” takes over again. One of the best ways of “being” is mindfulness, and I have found two good resources to assist with this.

Sarah Rudell Beach of “Left Brain Buddha” offers a blog and free (as well as paid) courses on Mindfulness. Her style is relaxed, realistic and non-dogmatic and she is very generous in sharing resources. Left Brain Buddha can be accessed at:

https://leftbrainbuddha.com/

Insight Timer is a website or App that offers thousands of free guided meditations (including some Christian ones, for those who are seeking these), and can be found at:

https://insighttimer.com

Expand your mind

This month is a good time to do some reading (borrow books from the local Library) and/ or to learn a new skill (there are many opportunities on the internet and these can be sourced by doing a simple google search).

Find creative things to do

There is time now to be spent on following creative interests and hobbies, by either starting new projects or finding unfinished ones that may have been relegated to the cupboard. This can result in a sense of achievement and possibly a chance to build up a store of gifts to give to others throughout the year (or even to prepare for next Christmas). Small projects, that are not too hot to work on, can use up left-over materials from other projects.

Take time to do some organising

Planning for the year ahead can be as simple as writing reminders on a calendar or in a diary, or more in depth. Rhonda Hetzel on her “Down to Earth” blog  wrote some good ideas on this topic this time last year, and these can be accessed here:

https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2018/01/january-thinking-about-year-ahead-and.html

Informal gatherings

Whilst taking a break from formal groups, take advantage of opportunities for informal gatherings, by inviting friends over, arranging spontaneous coffee mornings, meeting friends for lunch, and generally doing the socialising that it can be difficult to find time for during the rest of the year.

Remember: During January we have the gift of time.