Last of 2015’s monthly theme blog for the fabulous folks at Nourishing Storm. Go check out the community these amazing peeps have created.

Here we are. The last stretch of the wheel of the year. Into winter we go, deeper into the darkness. When the light outside wanes, the light within ourselves must ignite. But have we learned the way to ignite the light within?

Yes. I believe we have. Over this year we have learned much about ourselves. We have turned our focus within, zeroed in on our constant Truth. The internal and eternal place that makes us who we are and understands we are divine. And with this recognition we sit and we connect and become one with our highest self. Our Truth becomes our North Star, our intrinsic drishti.

Having found our core we build upon it. We are strengthened in mind, body and spirit in this space. We begin to appreciate this connection and see the beauty in life. Both the blissful and enduring beauty that is plain to our sight as well as the heart wrenching and raw beauty that life presents. This beauty is harder to see when in the midst of life’s storms, but the compassion and gratitude it inspires is no less than beautiful. More beautiful that this is being in a place within ourselves that allows this view.

With renewed inspiration, we eagerly move forward into life with an enthusiasm born of understanding our authentic selves, getting right within. Getting cool with us just as we are and with life just as it is. As we have sat with who we are, we have surely examined our flaws. Maybe we have let our focus slip to hone in on how these flaws will our affect our future or how we have developed these flaws from times past. It is easy to lose sight of ourselves here and give energy to things we can’t ever control.

But we have also developed a persistence that redirects us back to our North Star, we get right again and wake up to the present moment. The only moment where we can take action, take control, exercise our power. The depth of our power is fully realized when we understand how truly powerless we can be. Knowing how that feels on us, this powerlessness. We move forward vowing never to take the power of another and fiercely protecting the power of our own. Centered on this compassionate Truth, we can accept and forgive the faults in others and within ourselves and more genuinely engage with life.

But life has its way of switching the tempo on us and we have to adjust to find our balance again. Same as before, we look to the North Star, remember where we are, accept what we are and be who we are. We anchor back into this constant Truth and dive back into life, back into the moment. We can only give our energy to what holds our attention. And we can only do something, do anything in the present moment. We reawaken, fully minded in the now. And the now may be wonderful or painful, crazy or lazy. But when we open our eyes to the present moment, we see this moment is everything.

The past we see as pictures, the future like a movie we create. But the present moment, is the only moment in our lifetime that is live. And knowing this, we recognize the abundant promise the present holds. We understand and are more deeply rooted in who we are, what we love in our lives, about our lives and we begin to live from this place. Anchored in again, we expand. Solid in our footing, we reach higher. Confident in our steps, we can begin to dance with life. And life tests just how sure we are of our steps sometimes. Another tempo change. Another search for true north. If we know we are centered and aligned with Love and Compassion, we can find a way again to bend with life. Through compassionate love of others and of ourselves, unconditional and unshakeably faithful love, we can be with any reality and we can come through any reality, just as we are.

We have learned to be flexible and resilient and we have allowed the stretch of our faith in that Divine force that resides in each of us. And our faith sparks in the darkness. It is born from our innate wisdom. Wisdom gained from living with an openness and an honesty. We know we got this, because this little slice of life can only be got by us. The perfect wisdom is earned when we accept the challenge of life knowing full well we will stumble again and with grace in our hearts, believe in us, in all of us, anyway.

The spark ignites. Yes, we have learned. We, like the eye of an owl, must be open to see in the darkness. Released from our doubts and fears, forgiving of our faults and mistakes, eyes wide open and set on the present, we can create a light of our own. The more we open our hearts to life, the more light we find and the more clearly we can see that we are all Divine.

Our wisdom comes from the knowledge of our authentic selves, knowing our own beauty and knowing our own darkness. We apply our wisdom when we seek to live in a way true to what know, accepting all the while that we are still learning. Go within this winter and nourish your inner light and strengthen your roots so you can shine freely in each moment, grounded and centered in your Truth in the new year.