Neither here nor there.
The time between Christmas and the new year is a doorway. A threshold between the year that was and the year that will be. A liminal time.
We often walk through doors and across thresholds in time without really stopping to notice the transition between here and there. The moment when we're not here any more, but neither are we there yet. A change is happening, and we long for 'changing' to become 'changed' because the messy middle part is… messy.
What if we did take the time to notice? To pause there a moment. To take our time with 'changing'. What might we feel? What might we find?
It might be uncomfortable - the neither here nor there feeling is an uncertain one, and we're often not keen on not knowing. Our quick minds like things to be definite.
But I wonder - is there another part of us that might be fed by the mystery? That might revel in knowing nothing for sure - because if nothing is definite, anything is a possibility.
Do you feel it? That expansive, limitless feeling? Nothing is definite. Anything might happen.
Do you feel it? That dreamy feeling, like the threshold between sleeping and waking.
Do you feel it? What might happen, if we spent more time here, on the threshold?
If you feel moved, now, in this liminal time between years, is a very good time to find out…
How? There's no right way.
Here's a few suggestions:
Notice how your body feels. What sensations do you feel? What might they be telling you, what might they be asking for?
Pay attention to your dreams - night time dreams and daydreams. What is the feeling quality of your dreams? What images or symbols come up? Instead of trying to analyse or figure them out, try drawing them or writing poetry inspired by them. Spend time with the mystery of them.
What do you find yourself longing for? Create a secret corner to take a peek at your weirdest, wildest, most impractical dreams.
Rest. Spend time being delightfully 'unproductive'. Sleep in. Read books. Lie in the grass and stare at the clouds.
Do something creative with no outcome in mind, enjoying the feeling of doing something with your hands.
Make a practice of pausing every time you go through a door, just for a moment…