A (super) late post about Winter

I took these photos when winter was feeling cute. I was feeling the hype of the holidays and excited for the post holiday slow. I felt ready for Winter. 

Then came one of the most intense winter’s I can recall. The joy of sledding slid through the muck for some days, but generally mounds of snow made moving around just so hard. Then there were the many consecutive days of freezing temperatures. The inside of my body felt cold. 

I saw the heaviness of winter in my client’s faces and felt it in my bones. However, and yet again, this challenge that winter poses is not just to our personal moods, it’s a challenge to our social systems. The expectation that it all still must go on. School was closed, but it became virtual. It still must go on. Companies continued to demand that workers return to the office and cut out this “woke” work from home stuff. 

We can learn a thing or two, or a hundred, from communities who have learned to adapt, respond, and ritual with winter. This is why I frequently return to the book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. May writes "I'm certain that the cold has healing powers that I don't yet come close to understanding. After all, you apply ice to a joint after an awkward fall. Why not do the same to a life?"

In little pockets I found the quiet and slow of winter. I found the comfort in baking, in root vegetables, in dried flowers, and less plans. 

What May helped me to understand is the beautiful link between the practice of wintering and mindfulness. It’s listening. The slow, quiet, and limited activity of winter calls forth a listening that can be hard to do with the bustling of Spring, Summer, and Fall. So, as I see the cherry blossoms bloom and feel the warmth of the air I feel the buzz of energy abound, and I hold near the practice of listening this winter helped me dive deeper into. For my clients and those who may work with me, if listening goes astray in the fun of the warm seasons, don’t worry- I will help you remember.