I was relieved to be learning the practice of rest. Most people gear up in the fall and begin yearlong projects after some semblance of summertime rest. I thought how strange it is that within our culture we get busy in the fall and winter even though nature teaches us these seasons are about dying to the old and moving into stillness. Being on a shamanic path, I realized how I had the cycles backward. I was out of sync with the natural flow of the universe. Despite what I was conditioned to do, I absolutely knew my calling was to slow down and listen more intently to the rhythm of my own divinity; allowing my personal ministry to unfold organically. The challenge was to surrender to Spirit’s desires instead of any desire of my ego.
While breaking old patterns, I continuously thought, “There is something I should be doing” and I would gently remind myself that wasn’t true. It was fairly easy to retrain my mind initially. As time went by, I searched for ways to serve my community and still be on sabbatical. My “doing” self was cleverly trying to usurp my time of rest. I finally realized I was not on vacation. Instead, I was being called to a closer walk with God. My daily mantra became, “How does the divine wish to manifest through me today?” So far the answer has been, “To be love.”
In the first half of my sabbatical, I have more time to be truly present with what is. I’m enjoying time with friends, unstructured time with Spirit and my new spiritual practice of being love. I am so incredibly grateful because there is an invaluable deepening occurring within my relationship with the divine. When one is on sabbatical, it is a moving away from the world as we know it and moving more toward what is constant … that of the divine. How delicious it is to make room to live from a more authentically present and grounded being.
Truly, it is an exciting time to be alive. It is paramount for us to stay grounded, centered and “in love” as we move from the old paradigm into a new level of consciousness. This is not always easy, because our default is to keep busy and be “productive.” The time is now to step fully into our power and the fullness of love as we rise to our greater good.
As we move through this holiday season, I invite you to experience your own sense of sabbatical and what that means to you. It may last an hour, a day, six months or longer. Whatever you are called to be, I urge you to breathe into that essence and know it is a gateway to live your highest and best life. When each of us moves into the present moment and lives from our heart “in love,” we literally heal ourselves, each other and the planet.
I wish you all the love, joy, peace and bliss of the present moment as we share our gratitude and love this holiday season.
Abby Leach is a licensed mental health counselor in private practice and available for spiritual counseling sessions as a licensed practitioner. For more information, please visit her website at www.AbbyLeach.com. Perspective is coordinated by Interfaith Works in cooperation with The Olympian. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by Interfaith Works or The Olympian.
