I have been contemplating this year, in amongst my healing journey, how I resist winter. How I fear winter. The ancestral stories of isolation made real by the fact that my friends don't want to meet outside or do things after our kids come out of school. The ancestral stories of poverty made true by the rising costs of fuel and food and my inadequately insulated council house.
But last week during a cacao ceremony and self-guided journey inwards, I was asked what season I was in, and I replied 'winter'. When I came around, I was surprised to know it, but indeed I am in a time of my life where a lot of things need to die, hibernate, transform under the earth, be let go of, be allowed to sleep. A time of rest, and everything within. Within myself, under blankets and under soil level, parts of me that are deep and need deep love and deep rest. 3 times since the start of October, my body has forgotten that it should rest and this has manifested in illness. The first I fought, and I am now on my third and treating it as welcome opportunity to devote love and care to myself. Shedding so much.
Thankyou for this space to speak 💕 thankyou Sarah. I hope for a meditation with you soon x
Last year during a really painful time, I started to relearn to sink into the rest, magic, and quiet that is winter, just like when I was a kid. As a sugar cube adult, it’s still a work in progress haha. But daily walks with attention to the winter sun and whatever plants/trees are around, riding my horse, candlelight, and permission to get cozy very early in the day is how I find solace. So grateful you and many others are discussing “wintering,” that’s what really helped me find the joy and peace in it again. xx
I turned 60 this year. What?? And on top of that, after 25 years of marriage and raising 6 children together, 5 grandchildren, I chose to leave my marriage because of emotional and mental abuse, and after COVID, he displayed physical abuse. This winter, I just want to sleep and gather my energy. I'm not a fan of winter or cold weather, but...this year I need the down time. I moved out. I'm living alone. Every night I am grateful for my own bed and space, yet, dealing with depression, anxiety and exhaustion. I need time to be alone in this "winter" of my life. I've lost so much weight my jeans are falling off of me, my face looks tired and weathered, and my soul is just exhausted. I am thankful for this time of the year. May spring 2023 bring more light and happiness. Until then, fireplace, wine, blankets and two cats.
Wow, what a coincidence that this article came into my inbox today. I resist winter with all of my bones. As soon as Thanksgiving passes, I am hit with extreme anxiety and depression, for I know that I will be cooped up with nothing but me and my thoughts, fears, insecurities, and things that need tending to. It is only when Spring emerges that I feel alive again. It hasn't always been this way for me, I loved winter and Christmas as a child. But with age comes more wounding, more pain. Trying to be patient with myself during this time, but sometimes the symptoms are really difficult. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your beautiful words, and as always, softens up a place inside me.
It's only in the past year that I've been able to put a name to the pull I've always felt in the dark winter months. Permission to slow down, explore my inner world and reflect on the gift of rest and recovery. These are hard days - and I've grown to love the solitude winter brings in the bold north. I'll never be a snow bird - so it's best to find beauty in the dark days.
As a life long Minnestan I love winter because I can hibernate without ridicule. As the season goes along though I begin to long for life to be reprised into all of its colorful splendor.
As i near retirement from my “working life” at the end of December, I find myself confronting the biggest wintering of my life. I have always braced against the season and found myself also bracing against this change, dreading it actually. But it finally dawned on me that i no longer will be compelled to fight the growing dark and cold and quiet. No more working into the evening bathed in the blue light of my computer screen while the world around me darkens and says it is time to rest. I can finally surrender and join in without guilt to sit in the glow of the firelight from our wood stove, to return to my knitting, to read a book, work on an art project or bake whenever i want to. I am trying to wait quietly, percolating and bubbling like my sourdough starter, waiting for the “something new” that will emerge eventually... 🌻
The darker months have always been my Nemesis, a dark cloud starts falling around me in late September. It's a struggle to get through until the Spring but I have found great happiness in the last couple of Winters from wearing lots of Coloured garments.
I'm my own walking Rainbow, it brings me great joy! 💜🥰
How I love the image of the child, and the wise mother! I have just started, this autumn, to try to befriend winter time. Instead of just resisting. The sadness of the dying, dreading the cold and the dark, it has been such a heavy load to bear every year. But something has shifted, there is a new sense of calm, acceptance and curiosity now. Another kind of energy. When night falls already at three (here in Scandinavia) I feel it’s an opportunity to go further inside, and to listen to the deep voice of everything around me. Maybe the wisdom of nature, the past generations and of the deeper levels of the self can be better heard in the calm of the dark times.
Only recently have I ‘embraced’ the winter solstice. I still go begrudgingly….but my soul knows the need for hibernation…and so I accept the slowing down…knowing I will be back strong and resilient in the spring!
A great reminder to enjoy what the universe puts in front of us. Thank you Sarah. Winter was hard until I moved to a state, Arizona, with no “winter” where I was at. At least the winter I was used to in the Midwest. When I moved back to the Midwest a couple years later it was like a rebirth. Sometimes you have to miss something to appreciate it. We actually showed up at our new house with 10inches of snow on the ground. And beauty showed up as we noticed the deer tracking through the yard the next morning. Through meditation I have learned to love this time of year. Puzzling, warm baths, hot tea, reading. When it snows I have my morning tea outside taking pictures of birds. Our first snow of the season in October, I did a snow angle...haven’t done that in year! Sending love to those that find winter hard, hope you can find the peace. ❤️
For me to journey in the winter this year has been slow. Which my body and soul need to recover from surgery so I am trying to be patient. Peace and Joy to everyone 🙏🏻👏❤️
For the first time in many years I am not counting the days until the Winter Solstice. I used to feel like if I can make it through the darkest dark then I could make it through the rest of winter. I saw myself in your smiling picture buried in the snow, surrounded by the light even in the darkest dark. I’m going to be ok. I’m going to be ok.
Most years I’ve been sidelined by a deep, paralyzing + aching sadness when the colder months close in; sometimes it creeps up on me at the very tail end of Summer + usually lasts until I’ve truly settled into + befriended, once again, ole man Winter. This year is very different though + it’s because I’m in a vastly different place than any other year prior. I am wholeheartedly embracing the truly spellbinding beauty Winter brings with it, (Wisconsin) cold + all. I’m in a much more equanimous state, Winter-wise + all else-wise. For this Winter, I think I’ll be dodging that aching sadness. And what a blessing that is!
i am from the deep south. i used to hate the winter. brace against it.
but since entering through the portal of deep pain, that lead me to this spiritual awakening path.. i have come to appreciate this season. even love it. the quiet. the bare landscape that seems to reflect my heartache. it’s actually beautiful, breathtaking and healing some part of me deep below the surface.
I like thinking of winter as my personal hibernation period. I grew up playing hockey, so I enjoy the solace of winding down and recharging. As I've gotten older, I find it harder to justify blowing money getting wasted at bars (which are some of your limited options), and instead focus on reading, writing, cooking, yoga, and hiking. I crammed three summers worth of fun in these past few months to purge myself of any residual pandemic FOMO, so now I especially look forward to keeping it low-key.
I have been contemplating this year, in amongst my healing journey, how I resist winter. How I fear winter. The ancestral stories of isolation made real by the fact that my friends don't want to meet outside or do things after our kids come out of school. The ancestral stories of poverty made true by the rising costs of fuel and food and my inadequately insulated council house.
But last week during a cacao ceremony and self-guided journey inwards, I was asked what season I was in, and I replied 'winter'. When I came around, I was surprised to know it, but indeed I am in a time of my life where a lot of things need to die, hibernate, transform under the earth, be let go of, be allowed to sleep. A time of rest, and everything within. Within myself, under blankets and under soil level, parts of me that are deep and need deep love and deep rest. 3 times since the start of October, my body has forgotten that it should rest and this has manifested in illness. The first I fought, and I am now on my third and treating it as welcome opportunity to devote love and care to myself. Shedding so much.
Thankyou for this space to speak 💕 thankyou Sarah. I hope for a meditation with you soon x
Last year during a really painful time, I started to relearn to sink into the rest, magic, and quiet that is winter, just like when I was a kid. As a sugar cube adult, it’s still a work in progress haha. But daily walks with attention to the winter sun and whatever plants/trees are around, riding my horse, candlelight, and permission to get cozy very early in the day is how I find solace. So grateful you and many others are discussing “wintering,” that’s what really helped me find the joy and peace in it again. xx
I turned 60 this year. What?? And on top of that, after 25 years of marriage and raising 6 children together, 5 grandchildren, I chose to leave my marriage because of emotional and mental abuse, and after COVID, he displayed physical abuse. This winter, I just want to sleep and gather my energy. I'm not a fan of winter or cold weather, but...this year I need the down time. I moved out. I'm living alone. Every night I am grateful for my own bed and space, yet, dealing with depression, anxiety and exhaustion. I need time to be alone in this "winter" of my life. I've lost so much weight my jeans are falling off of me, my face looks tired and weathered, and my soul is just exhausted. I am thankful for this time of the year. May spring 2023 bring more light and happiness. Until then, fireplace, wine, blankets and two cats.
Wow, what a coincidence that this article came into my inbox today. I resist winter with all of my bones. As soon as Thanksgiving passes, I am hit with extreme anxiety and depression, for I know that I will be cooped up with nothing but me and my thoughts, fears, insecurities, and things that need tending to. It is only when Spring emerges that I feel alive again. It hasn't always been this way for me, I loved winter and Christmas as a child. But with age comes more wounding, more pain. Trying to be patient with myself during this time, but sometimes the symptoms are really difficult. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your beautiful words, and as always, softens up a place inside me.
It's only in the past year that I've been able to put a name to the pull I've always felt in the dark winter months. Permission to slow down, explore my inner world and reflect on the gift of rest and recovery. These are hard days - and I've grown to love the solitude winter brings in the bold north. I'll never be a snow bird - so it's best to find beauty in the dark days.
As a life long Minnestan I love winter because I can hibernate without ridicule. As the season goes along though I begin to long for life to be reprised into all of its colorful splendor.
As i near retirement from my “working life” at the end of December, I find myself confronting the biggest wintering of my life. I have always braced against the season and found myself also bracing against this change, dreading it actually. But it finally dawned on me that i no longer will be compelled to fight the growing dark and cold and quiet. No more working into the evening bathed in the blue light of my computer screen while the world around me darkens and says it is time to rest. I can finally surrender and join in without guilt to sit in the glow of the firelight from our wood stove, to return to my knitting, to read a book, work on an art project or bake whenever i want to. I am trying to wait quietly, percolating and bubbling like my sourdough starter, waiting for the “something new” that will emerge eventually... 🌻
The darker months have always been my Nemesis, a dark cloud starts falling around me in late September. It's a struggle to get through until the Spring but I have found great happiness in the last couple of Winters from wearing lots of Coloured garments.
I'm my own walking Rainbow, it brings me great joy! 💜🥰
How I love the image of the child, and the wise mother! I have just started, this autumn, to try to befriend winter time. Instead of just resisting. The sadness of the dying, dreading the cold and the dark, it has been such a heavy load to bear every year. But something has shifted, there is a new sense of calm, acceptance and curiosity now. Another kind of energy. When night falls already at three (here in Scandinavia) I feel it’s an opportunity to go further inside, and to listen to the deep voice of everything around me. Maybe the wisdom of nature, the past generations and of the deeper levels of the self can be better heard in the calm of the dark times.
Only recently have I ‘embraced’ the winter solstice. I still go begrudgingly….but my soul knows the need for hibernation…and so I accept the slowing down…knowing I will be back strong and resilient in the spring!
A great reminder to enjoy what the universe puts in front of us. Thank you Sarah. Winter was hard until I moved to a state, Arizona, with no “winter” where I was at. At least the winter I was used to in the Midwest. When I moved back to the Midwest a couple years later it was like a rebirth. Sometimes you have to miss something to appreciate it. We actually showed up at our new house with 10inches of snow on the ground. And beauty showed up as we noticed the deer tracking through the yard the next morning. Through meditation I have learned to love this time of year. Puzzling, warm baths, hot tea, reading. When it snows I have my morning tea outside taking pictures of birds. Our first snow of the season in October, I did a snow angle...haven’t done that in year! Sending love to those that find winter hard, hope you can find the peace. ❤️
For me to journey in the winter this year has been slow. Which my body and soul need to recover from surgery so I am trying to be patient. Peace and Joy to everyone 🙏🏻👏❤️
For the first time in many years I am not counting the days until the Winter Solstice. I used to feel like if I can make it through the darkest dark then I could make it through the rest of winter. I saw myself in your smiling picture buried in the snow, surrounded by the light even in the darkest dark. I’m going to be ok. I’m going to be ok.
Perfectly put, Sarah. Always perfectly put.
Most years I’ve been sidelined by a deep, paralyzing + aching sadness when the colder months close in; sometimes it creeps up on me at the very tail end of Summer + usually lasts until I’ve truly settled into + befriended, once again, ole man Winter. This year is very different though + it’s because I’m in a vastly different place than any other year prior. I am wholeheartedly embracing the truly spellbinding beauty Winter brings with it, (Wisconsin) cold + all. I’m in a much more equanimous state, Winter-wise + all else-wise. For this Winter, I think I’ll be dodging that aching sadness. And what a blessing that is!
i am from the deep south. i used to hate the winter. brace against it.
but since entering through the portal of deep pain, that lead me to this spiritual awakening path.. i have come to appreciate this season. even love it. the quiet. the bare landscape that seems to reflect my heartache. it’s actually beautiful, breathtaking and healing some part of me deep below the surface.
I like thinking of winter as my personal hibernation period. I grew up playing hockey, so I enjoy the solace of winding down and recharging. As I've gotten older, I find it harder to justify blowing money getting wasted at bars (which are some of your limited options), and instead focus on reading, writing, cooking, yoga, and hiking. I crammed three summers worth of fun in these past few months to purge myself of any residual pandemic FOMO, so now I especially look forward to keeping it low-key.