Somewhere in the last few years, I’ve learned that if we at made don’t intentionally slow it down in January, we’ll just become reactors to what happens to us, instead of living fully awake — making change and leaning into the something new we’re called to. Sooo, the shop is on winter break till January 12th and if you’ve been with us for long — you know January is a month we slow down — a lot. Not because we don’t need your support, but rather because we want to do this well for the long haul.
As we seek to be a slow fashion brand, this means there are times we close, stop, don’t have new stuff, post less, and just need to be. I want our way of doing business to be sustainable and healthy for all involved. Perhaps, we have shopped plenty. I know that is a crazy thing for the owner of a retail business to say but my commitment to truth and health for us bids me to give you permission to slow. Here is to a month of settling in and enjoying what we already own.
For me, giving from a healthy place requires slowing down. I love how Richard Rohr once said it — let your activism come from your joy, not your guilt or your anger. Those things may work to get you started but they certainly cannot sustain in a healthy direction. I can so easily fall into the age-old hustle for worth and need to prove myself by all I accomplish — activism fueled more by my need to add value or silence my own guilt than truly caring for those I want to serve. I want to give from a place of love and in order to do this, I am going to need to slow down sometimes.
Thanks to a slower start, we begin the year from a little more centered place instead of frantically trying to catch up and though there are of course, sacrifices, and days I just want to get going, I know taking it a little slower in January helps me live a little more connected to the stories in a healthy way.
Justice can’t be rushed. Change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the slow and patient process of showing up and sabbathing well.
We’re in this and can’t wait to get to it in 2024, but if there’s anything we can learn from the weather — winter is vital to spring. So, we’re wintering a little the next two weeks.
xoxo,
Holly