blessed yule & winter solstice

Today is the beginning of Yule and the Winter Solstice. That downward path that started at Samhain has completed it’s decent and now we begin the climb back to the light. I truly do adore this time of this year, and those feelings have been so much more accessible this year than previous years. I have felt the compassion I’ve held for myself this year grow stronger this month, and I have held peaceful and quiet space for my spirit. The past few months in particular have been difficult, and I’m grateful this year for a more intentional slowing down and pausing to take a breath before the year officially ends.

Yesterday I officially finished the first draft of my book. All 108,455 words. 215 pages. And I’ve felt a tad adrift since sending my editor the final chapter. This has been a huge project during 2022, and the fact that I’m beginning the final stages of it is a little shocking. 7 years ago this coming February, I published the first edition of my book, and here I am preparing for the publishing of the second edition. It is an entirely different book now. It is full, it is complete, and it is the book I have been wanting to write for a very very long time.

I’m doing things differently this time. I’ve chosen a date for the release, and the date has significant meaning for me, and I will share that date as soon as some more things line up. It’s time to start gathering the resources I want to attach to the book, and copies of letters and pictures I want to share in an addendum. Some of the items I will be sharing in the book’s addendum are things that are still painful for me to see. But it’s worth sharing because it adds further credence to my story and the things I’ve experienced.

I believe this will be my last post of the year. After having finished the first draft of my manuscript last night, it feels like all of my words have been drained dry. I need to take the next two weeks to really consider some really serious questions of myself, and those will determine how the new year is going to start.

Here’s to my coming year of being expansive, expanding, and growing into the person I want to be, instead of having to fight for simply being valid.