The Calm Between: A Quiet Invitation to Slow Down

There’s a moment if you’re paying attention where everything just... softens.

The emails are slow. The meetings disappear. The pace finally permits you to exhale.

It’s not quite the end of the year. It’s not yet the next big thing. It’s something in between.

And that space? That’s what I call The Calm Between.

The calm between routine and reflection. Between obligation and intention. Between the energy we’ve spent and the rest we desperately need.

This time of year, many of us find ourselves surrounded by loved ones, family flying in, the smell of good food filling the house, and conversations that pick up right where they left off. It’s a season where laughter floats through the air, where reunions feel sacred, and where, just for a little while, we have the gift of being with people we don’t always get to see.

And yet… sometimes, even in the room, our minds wander. We’re listening, but not fully. We’re present, but not really here.

I’ve been guilty of that, thinking about the next task, the undone list, the unspoken stress. But The Calm Between is calling us to pause. To be an active listener. To be an active engager. To give our whole selves to the moment unfolding in front of us.

And if this season finds you alone, without the company of family or close friends, I want to honor that, too. Because this, too, can be sacred. Not everyone has a table full of people. But solitude doesn’t have to mean sadness.

This might be the perfect moment to reflect. To journal. To reset. Caring for yourself in ways the busy year may not have allowed.

The Calm Between isn’t about doing less. It’s about being more present. More grounded. More available to yourself and the people (or peace) around you.

It’s choosing not to rush, not to fix, not to force. It’s the decision to feel whole without needing to be productive.

So if you're reading this and feeling the urge to keep pushing pause.

Take a walk. Sip something warm. Notice the light. Let the silence say something kind to you.

Because this is calm? It’s not permanent. But it’s powerful. And it came just in time.

Wishing you a season of rest, connection, reflection, and just enough quiet to hear your own heartbeat again.

Dr. Cynthia Skyers-Gordon
Founder, SILWELL-C