Ready for a Fresh Start? Making Room for What Comes Next…
Updated: Oct 1
I’ve been thinking about how quickly we decide that anything we want to release must have been bad.
A bad habit.
A bad decision.
A bad version of ourselves.
Something to overcome, eliminate or firmly escort from the building. 😄
But perhaps not everything we release needs to become an enemy.
Some things simply complete their purpose.
The fear that once kept us safe.
The people-pleasing that helped us feel accepted.
The procrastination that protected us from the possibility of failure.
The resentment that reminded us we had been hurt.
The version of ourselves that knew how to survive something we no longer have to survive.
These parts of us were not necessarily trying to ruin our lives.
Some of them were trying very hard to help.
Perhaps rather clumsily.
Perhaps long after their assistance was required.
But help, nevertheless.
And I think this changes the way we release them.
We don’t have to declare war.
We don’t have to analyse ourselves to death.
And we certainly don’t need to turn the whole thing into another exhausting self-improvement project.
We can simply recognise:
This is part of me too.
You helped me once.
Thank you.
But I don’t need to hold onto you quite so tightly anymore.
There is something very tender about releasing what has completed its purpose.
Not throwing it away in disgust.
Not pretending it never mattered.
Simply acknowledging that it belonged to an earlier chapter.
And that we are allowed to turn the page.
Of course, old patterns are rarely impressed by one beautifully written farewell. 😄
They may return.
The people-pleaser may still volunteer us for something we have absolutely no desire to do.
The procrastinator may suddenly remember that the spice drawer needs urgent attention.
The fear may whisper:
Are you quite sure about this?
We’re human.
But perhaps we recognise them sooner.
Perhaps we meet them more kindly.
Perhaps we remember that they no longer get to make every decision.
This is one of the things I love about Navaratri.
For nine days, the Nine Faces of Durga give us nine different mirrors through which to look at our own lives.
But you don't need to go anywhere to do this.
And you don't need me sitting on the other side of a Zoom screen telling you what to do.
In fact, there is something rather beautiful about making it your own private pilgrimage.
This year I’ve created a Navaratri Sādhanā workbook so you can do exactly that.
In your own home.
In your own time.
Just you and Durga Maa.
You can read each Goddess's story.
Chant her mantra.
Sit with the questions she raises.
Doodle whatever comes.
Colour her yantra.
Notice the parts of yourself she illuminates.
And then close the book and get on with your day.
Because that's where it becomes really interesting.
Perhaps something you've read stays with you while you're making coffee.
Perhaps you recognise an old pattern halfway through a conversation.
Perhaps you find yourself saying a clearer No.
Or a wholehearted Yes.
Perhaps something you've carried for years suddenly feels ready to be placed gently on the altar and offered back.
Not rejected.
Not destroyed.
Released with love.
And although this is your own private sādhanā, you don't have to work everything out by yourself.
I'm still here.
If something in the workbook puzzles you, moves you, brings up a question—or you simply want to tell me what happened—email me.
I would genuinely love to hear from you.
Perhaps that's how I'd most like to share Navaratri this year.
Not by asking you to follow me.
But by giving you everything you need to begin your own relationship with the Goddess.
In the privacy of your own home.
At your own pace.
And with a little companionship from me whenever you need it.
Your altar.
Your questions.
Your discoveries.
Your sādhanā.
And Durga Maa, of course.
She's quite capable of taking it from there. 😄🌺
Still putt the Navaratri page…it will be adjusted by the time this is posted
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