Spirit Matters: Tenderly navigate your way through the darkness

January can be a tough month.

The rush of the holidays is over. Families and friends have gone home. And all the happy, warm decorations have been sent back to storage for another year.

Whatever challenges or difficulties in our lives that were masked by all the activity are now amplified even more with this abrupt return to reality.

And, let’s face it, despite all the happy holiday pretense, life is difficult for many people.

Some are unemployed or underemployed while trying to support a family. Some have a chronic and/or terminal illness. Others are grieving the death of a family member or friend.

Even if none of the above currently apply in our lives, global chaos, uncertainty about the nation’s future and the resulting tension with family and friends have plunged us into an ongoing state of existential anxiety.

We might not even realize how much these things have affected our well-being because we have “adapted” as they have happened. Or, at least we think we have adapted.

Most likely, our bodies are overloaded with cortisol, the stress hormone that can wreak havoc on all aspects of our health and well-being when unmanaged.

We might be battling headaches, fatigue, high blood pressure, irritability, sugar cravings, poor sleep, lethargy and more.

This sounds pretty bleak, and it can be, but there is hope.

First, we can help ourselves through the dark days of January and February by initiating some healthy self-care practices, such as journaling, deep breathing, gentle stretching, prayer, meditation, healthy eating and reaching out to others.

For many years, I have kept my Christmas tree up long after it is socially acceptable to do so. (On a side note, why do we let “social acceptability” dictate how long we keep our tree up – or when we put it up for that matter?)

For some people, including me, keeping those soft, warm lights on through the darkest part of the winter can mean the difference between holding life together until more light returns and sinking into a depression that is nearly impossible to escape.

But we don’t have to keep our Christmas trees up to achieve this effect.

This week, I ordered a fairy light tree and a set of flameless “birch tree” candles. When they arrive, we will be scattering them around the house, along with our other flameless candles and lanterns, to provide that comforting, cozy effect we crave.

From a spiritual standpoint, getting through the post-holiday slump can require some heavy-duty faith and trust that “all shall be well,” as the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich famously wrote.

To that end, the first and most important thing we need to offer ourselves is the grace and compassion we often so readily extend to our closest friends and family members.

Or, more accurately, we need to surrender to the knowledge that despite how dark life can seem right now, we are immutably held in the infinite love of the sacred heart of the holy one.

Even when – especially when – we can’t feel it.

So, if you are one of the many millions who are holding on by a thread right now, take heart.

You are not alone.

You are not alone.

You are not alone.

And …

“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

SPIRIT MATTERS is a weekly column by Jerrilyn Zavada Novak that examines experiences common to the human spirit. Contact her at jzblue33@yahoo.com.