Restoration

A week or so ago, I asked my higher guidance for a word that would describe the theme of august for me. The word restoration came in. I initially thought maybe they mean rest but no, restoration was the clear word.

After sitting with it for a bit I decided to share it with all of you and break my unintentional hiatus from writing my newsletter.

It’s been a summer of both slowness and intensity for me and many. Being in the Texas hill country this July was intense due to the floods and the lingering sense of tragedy and trauma in the air. I don’t often spend much time on news but I say “don’t live in the tragedies of the world but when they are at your door step, feel and process with your community”. This was at our door step, even my 8 year old nephew lost a school friend. The heartbreak and profound presence created was jolting. Tragedy, in all its pain, always seems to wake humans up to the absurdity of our day to worries for a moment, suddenly we care for strangers and want to contribute to the collective wellbeing more than we do on a normal basis. While this eventually fades, it is an odd gift tucked in to suffering.

I also recently moved homes on the 1st of august, a thing every Texan says they will never do and almost all of us does at some point for some reason. It was sort of a sweat lodge vision quest moving experience.

This summer many people I know and myself included had flare ups of health issues and rapid heart rate out of no where. I found myself feeling somewhat suspended in a moment that seemed to be on repeat up until the move. And now that I’m landed and unpacked I feel the call for restoration.

Although your summer might be different, I imagine many of us are in need of similar things. We have pushed, hustled, surrendered, and stopped this summer and now in the slow space before fall we need to restore.

I thought about this word and all it could mean. Realizing there is a big difference between it and rest and even bigger between restore and renovate. I thought of restoring old homes and the patches of river roped off for habitat restoration. I thought of my attempt at restoring an armoire that was once in my nursery as a baby (which lead to me realizing, I am not really someone who likes DIY, I do it because its cheaper and should really just stick to what I am good at and save up to pay someone else).

Here are the key components of restoration that I think we could all benefit from applying to our lives.

• Remove from regular use- this is not the time to go trampling and pushing forward as usual. You don’t sit in the rocking chair being restored but you do work on it. For us, this might look like changing your focus in work or daily activities. Even fitness could be more about repair and strengthening than working to the highest level. Take a little time out of being so busy to rest and reflect.

• Get rid of what is not in service to the vision- after taking yourself out of high productivity mode, really assess what you could stand to chip off yourself. What plants in your garden would your prune? Maybe certain social obligations, ways of thinking or media use could be changed. This isnt about an overhaul this about one area that most needs it.

• Supporting the bones- what is at the core of your life vision, of who you are that matters most and how can you support it? What do you need to be able to thrive in the day to day more? This could be more walks in nature, naps, minerals, or even journaling on a daily basis.

• Adding character and life back- as we move toward the end of the month, could you add back a little more joy, a little more personal expression. Where can you blossom just a bit more? Think really dressing as a main character in your life, or finally taking that creative writing class or telling people how much you love them and what you love about them.

• Integrate it back in to life- after some time of restoring take a moment to make some of this the norm. We dont need to spend so much time everyday in a state of repair, because ideally its helping and we can feel more energized for life but we dont want to return to the old version of ourselves either, decide what upkeep is going to maintain your restored self and be aware of what would quickly deteriorate it.

I know many of you dont feel you have so much extra time for restoration, you can’t take off any more work or withdraw away from your family but if you feel open to it, let go of a few extra things in your month. Say no to others to say yes to you. Give yourself some space to discover what needs some love and energy, pick a focus and go towards it. Dont try to repair every area of life but pick one thing you could really bring some life back to and assess it, take it out of its normal way of being and give it some love. You will not regret letting one more thing in your life run more smoothly.

What often feels like work in the short term saves energy and time in the long run.

I know with my clients who come in for mentorships the time and energy at first seems like a lot, but as old layers fall away, and spaciousness and ease start to show up, not only do sessions feel exciting and invigorating they feel like the most efficient and effective thing to do. When you can start understanding the deeper spiritual connections in you and changing patterns on the energetic level your life changes forever.

If you’re in need of this, reach out and let’s chat about it.

May you all restore and feel the flow moving through you again,

Avery