DECEMBER | Seasonal Reflection

It's been 9 months since I started Unkempt! So before we get to our monthly seasonal prompts, I'm going to prompt a little feedback from you. (Don't worry, I made this easy-peasy!)

If you’ve read Letting Magic In, you’ll know I’m fascinated by the “zinc spark,” the internal pyrotechnics that happen when egg meets sperm. It’s like a mini big-bang, but deep inside the midnight spaces of the womb.

Every beginning has its spark, whether its the moment your gaze locks with someone’s across a crowded room or the glint of a fresh idea flickering through your mind. Some of these little flames find tinder. Others flash and die in the darkness.

Nine months ago I created this thing called Unkempt. It was just a tiny spark; I wasn’t sure it would survive. But thanks to you, not only has Unkempt sustained, it has (miraculously!) become something that helps sustain me. It’s been mind-boggling to see so many of you becoming paid subscribers. Each time one of you subscribes, it’s like getting one of those little gold stars my second grade teacher used to stick on our spelling tests. I truly can’t offer enough thanks for the constellations of stars you have offered me. When my internal editor gets snarky, its those gold stars that light my way forward.

So I’m hoping you’ll help me continue to evolve Unkempt because, ultimately, this project is meant to bring joy and magic into your life. Since I can’t read your mind (believe me, I’ve tried!), I’ve created a super quick survey. I’m hoping you’ll gift me two minutes of your time and share your thoughts.

One decision I have made: in 2024 (how did that happen?), the free version of Unkempt is going to be more of your typical author’s newsletter which means you’ll get book and event announcements, plus an occasional thought or two. The paid version will be where writing prompts, articles, lessons, Q&As, and sneak peeks live. That way, I won’t overwhelm folks who only want to hear from me occasionally (unbelievably those people do exist!).

So if you want to help shape the paid subscription content…

A few other announcements and then we’ll dive into seasonal prompts:

• Writing retreat at my house in January! Hit reply for details.

• I’ll be having a lunch event with best selling author Dani Shapiro here in Asheville, also in January, to discuss her incredible novel Signal Fires. This is a rare opportunity to meet Dani… and hang out with me!

Once you're done the survey (cause you’re gonna take the survey, right?), come on back and scroll down for your December Seasonal prompts!

Magic Song for Those Who Wish to Live

Day arises
From its sleep,
Day wakes up
With the dawning light.
Also you must arise,
Also you must awake
Together with the day which comes.

— a Thule Eskimo poem, as recorded in Changing Light, edited by Ruth Gendler

I think of this time of year as the void, the pause as we exhale the old year and inhale the year to come. A time to rest and reflect before we curve into the rising spiral of the seasons, when energy starts its so slow ascent, beginning with the winter solstice.

The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, meaning the time when the “sun stands still” or “rests” (sol = “sun”; -stitium is from the verb sisto = “to rest/to make stand still”).

During the weeks leading up to and leading away from the solstice, the change in the balance of the light is so small as to be unnoticeable. While the length of day to night is balanced, the energy pattern shifts at the solstice from moving toward darkness to moving toward light; the feel of these days before the solstice is different from the feel of the days on the other side.

Keep this in mind in the coming weeks, and find ways to cherish these final moments of descent.

Notice how you respond to this fading light. When it is cloudy out and the light is even more limited, how do you feel? Do you need extra support (from friends, from family, from the green world) at this time of year?

This is a time of half-light. Mind the whispers of your half-conscious self. Record your dreams. Keep a journal or draw or sculpt. Find ways to savor the images gifted to you in this time of darkness.

Finally, begin to consider what baggage you don’t want to carry into the new year. This might be emotions or thoughts that aren’t serving you or it might be actual stuff that you’re ready to release (if you, like me, are always looking to dispose of things responsibly, check out The Take Back Bag which lets you recycle clothes and fabrics).

Last but not least: don’t forget to take the survey!

xx Maia