Settle Down Easy...

As I settled in to write this week’s musing, I found myself harping on the word settled itself. We find it often in our vernacular to mean settling down or settling in. What about if we settle a dispute or settle the bill? In fact, we have a fair amount of negative association with the word settle. “He settled for someone fine. She settled for that corporate job. Don’t settle for anything less than what you deserve. Settle down already.”

The most challenging way to settle sometimes is to settle into the life we’ve already built. Lately I see myself wanting to settle into my life more, nuzzle into it so to speak, in a way that lets me be present with the parts I already have. There’s an urge to settle back that lets me put down the snow globe long enough to let the snow settle peacefully upon the ground, done with its frantic motions. When we let the dust settle, only then can we see clearly enough what’s already around us. Perhaps the Grateful Dead lyrics resonate with you as much as they do with me when they say “Ramble on baby….settle down easy.”

As we look into the year ahead, consider what it could mean to settle in rather than start something new. You’ve come this far, built this much, accomplished all that has come before you. Sure there’s more, an exciting new rhythm you want to try over there because there always is. But first, settle back into that rhythm you’re already a part of, where the groove feels easy and you already belong. You deserve it.