Are you the one who “does it all”?
Do you find yourself balancing the needs of your family against your goals for the New Year, and also…
Trying to get some rest?
Here’s an opportunity for you to make some time for yourself this season.
There are good reasons we gather around the table as the day fades.
But whether it’s Christmas, or Yule, or just that weird week-with-way-too-many-social-engagements, it can be easy to get caught in the expectations and the planning and the performance of roles at this time of the year.
I’d like to offer you a chance to take some time out for yourself for a daily writing practice.
I invite you to embrace the time to rest and to experience the rhythms of the season as they play out in your body. I offer you the opportunity to explore the wisdom and warmth of tradition, and consider the possibilities of building your own ways of honouring the season.
Joy in the Dark is a 12-day writing journey designed to align with the flow of the season and the weight of expectations that frequently arrives with it.
Over the course of the program, I will offer you daily contemplations on topics that come up around the holidays.
Each day brings a new set of writing prompts. You can consider such questions as:
- Did I choose this, or was it handed to me?
- Can I be at peace with this role?
- Is there something else that would bring me more joy?
Whether it’s Christmas, or Yule, or just that weird week-with-way-too-many-social-engagements, it can be easy to get caught in the expectations and the planning and the performance of roles at this time of the year.
The dark weeks give us the chance to reflect on the deeper reasons for our actions.
This is an accessible writing practice designed to give you a small space of peace in your day.
Each day I will send you a new prompt for you to consider and journal about. These start on Dec 21 and finish on Jan 1, to carry you through the holidays.
There is also a bonus introductory module to help you find space in your home and your calendar so that you will find this program to be relaxing rather than just another task on your to-do list. (This module also includes some colouring pages to distract your children if that’s a challenge for you.)
The prompts are delivered to your inbox daily to remind you to come back to the present and consider the day’s contemplation.
To get started, click below to go to the purchase page:
Who Am I?
Hi! I’m Seonaid Lee, the creator of “Joy in the Dark.”
I spent the first three decades of my life in hyper-over-achievement mode, and the fourth and fifth decades learning to temper that tendency.
Along the way, I have been an embodiment coach, yoga instructor, university teacher (physics and educational philosophy), and mom-friend to many.
My work is all designed to help people find their way to connected agency in the world – community, self-expression, and adventure – with care at its centre.
I’m an experimenter, a thinker, and a voracious learner. I treasure depth, balance, and joy in equal measure.
I was raised in a house in which Christmas was a Big Deal. It was also very stressful. Getting things done just the right way always looked exhausting.
By the time I started hosting for the holidays, we had broadened our friend group to include all sorts of different traditions, so we started hosting a “Mid-Winter Holiday Party.” The focus was on friends and food.
So. Much. Food.
…
Hold on… Nostalgic Food Coma…
…
I’m back.
Anyway. After I had kids of my own, and became a dedicated seasonal relaxer, I went with “casual” as my default. Christmas dinner happened… sometime… but I wanted the day itself to be a genuine day of rest, for ALL of us. Even me.
I am not saying that needs to be your approach. If you want to Martha Stewart it up – and you get joy out of that – have at it.
I’m just saying that it made me realize that there were options.
A few years ago I was working on a coaching practice to help overachievers get more joy out of life. It launched just before the holiday season… And so was born Joy in The Dark. It remains one of my favourite products.
Over the years, I’ve developed more of a Yule and year-end focus to my own celebrations, but the program still holds onto the (North American) scheduling of Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Eve.
Since those still show up as expectations for most of us. 😘
New for 2023: Digital Detox Bonus Version
I am a huge fan of turning off the computer and getting out of the screens.
As a bonus for this program, I have wrapped all the contemplations and prompts in a single downloadable (low graphic) PDF that you can print and take with you wherever you are going over the holidays.
No phone, no computer, no app. Just you, your pen, and a stack of writing prompts.
Old school.
This bonus will be released Dec 20, so that you can print it off and get started on the same schedule as the emailed content. You can (obviously) also just go through it on your own if that’s your preference.
If you’re ready to get started, the prep module is already live. It has suggestions for gathering your materials, setting expectations with your family, and finding space to write.
I hope you allow yourself the gift of rest this season.
And I look forward to hearing what you get out of the program.
