A winter pause Springs a reset.
Winter often gets the worst rap of all the seasons. It’s too long, too cold, too dark and the weather while predictable is maddeningly inconsistent. Summer, by contrast, is the extroverted, popular season that everyone can’t wait to included in. This year, I leaned into “wintering”, a term coined by the author, Katherine May of the book by the same name. It helped me appreciate the season much differently and now, as we transition to our next season, spring, I am noticing the nuanced changes of the earth and appreciating what it has to offer. I notice how this helps me align nature with our daily living and appreciate the moments instead of simply bearing down.
“Katherine May, author of Wintering, defines it as a natural, often involuntary, period of retreat and rest during life's difficult seasons, like illness, loss, or burnout, where one feels cut off and slowed down, but which is essential for reflection, healing, and eventual renewal, drawing parallels to how nature hibernates and prepares for spring. It's about active acceptance of this painful, fallow time rather than fighting it, allowing for deep internal work and transformation, just as plants and animals conserve energy to survive harsh conditions.”
As the official month of spring starts this week, hope begins to stir within many of us. Daylight savings will give us another hour of light starting next week, bits of green can be seen at the end of tree branches and soon, the ground will be visible under what is now banks of snow. Sunshine is brighter and a collective sigh is felt within most communities. My current theory is because we aren’t given the tools to let us lean into the winter season we resist against what is here to support and provide a pause. Our bodies require more rest, hibernation, heavier foods and different types of movement. Yet, we move along at the same pace, expectations of the same hours to be worked and maybe social obligations slow down after the pace of the holidays. We do our best to rest but the resistance is felt in our bones, our fatigue, our apathy.
I don’t presume I will be able to make changes to the entire culture but for myself, I sleep more in January, I do more restorative movement and do less social events. As I practiced more “wintering” habits this year and while running my “100 days of healthy habits” class, I noticed that I appreciated the changes in the season more this year.
Light is restricted from November, when we turn the clocks back in most American states, making it dark here in Maine about 4pm. It became a fun game to slowly begin closing the curtains later and later in the evening. Exclamations of ‘it’s light until 5pm now’ begin to emerge in February as homes notice the light reappearing.
February second is known as Ground Hog day but some communities celebrate Imbolc, known in Ireland as Saint Brigid’s day. It’s a day to celebrate the half way point of winter, honoring 6 more weeks until spring and planting metaphorical seeds for the upcoming fertile season. At this time, I began to notice hints of birds chirping, the light becoming a little brighter and while snow storms were still abundant on the east coast, the quality of the snow changed and became a little softer underfoot. Indeed, nature has messages for us if we listen instead of grip tightly.
Now, March is ahead of us and there’s an opportunity to plant and reset. It may be a little longer before we are are able to dance at the beach and hang with the coolest season of them all, summer, but it’s ok to be in the moment. We can think about what we want for the upcoming year, set intentions for what we want to achieve and clear a path for what is possible.
As we think about change and creation, sometimes we need to ground to steady ourselves and build a platform to jump off from. Honoring this stage is powerful. We are meant to be in all the stages, just like nature. We can not be in constant “summer” mode. As we pause, to let these new seeds maturate, eventually, blooming will be inevitable. Whatever we create within, seeks outside expression. This is the opportunity to be mindful and intentional and clean with our thoughts.
Every year has new lessons for us and for me, leaning into winter has made spring, even more exciting for me. Spring has never been my favorite, as it’s usually still cold, wet and too much “between” to be anything to be excited about. This year, I am watching with enthusiasm and allowing myself to thaw out, create new opportunities and experiences. I think I might have a lot to be excited about this year and hope you do, too!
