Embracing Winter’s Message

On this eve of the Winter Solstice I have been pondering the gift of this time of year. I have to admit that I have been known to say more than once “I would love Fall if Winter didn’t follow it”. I am not a lover of the cold, lack of light, and the tension of driving in the snow and ice. Most years I grit my teeth through January and February, eating too much and heavily and binge watching Netflix more than feels good, all to “just get through” the Winter. I am a lover of the beauty and warmth of Spring and Summer and the lightness and freedom I feel in those seasons.

But this year feels different or perhaps it is I who feel different. I have been feeling for some months that a change is needed in my life, in my work, in my relationship with myself and with others. I haven’t really known what that change would be but I know it has to do with going deeper in all the areas of my life, connecting even more deeply with who I am.

This call is towards a deeper meaning, a meaning that has no words but that has a home in a more quiet place in me. It may be related to the state of the world, the aging of those around me and myself, or the many who are ill around me. I’m not sure of the cause but I am sure of the call itself.

I am not alone in this as I continue to witness my clients and loved ones being called towards a life that feels more real and connected to who they truly are, as if we no longer have time for the inessential in our lives. This path is not an easy one because we are used to feeling we know what the answers are and where we are going, and now we find ourselves in a darker, more mysterious realm. This is where Winter and her message can really help us.

In Nature, Winter is a time for rest. Life goes dormant, not dead, but sleeping, gathering energy for new life in the Spring. If we heed the call of Winter, which is so hard in our go, go, go culture, we are called to slow down, rest more, contemplate deeply into ourselves, nourishing and tending our physical energy and the new sparks of change that might not even be in our conscious awareness yet, just whispers we know are there but can’t quite see.

Winter asks us to Trust – Trust that life is still here, just gone underground to rest and gather energy for the new growth that is to come; Trust that we have what we need, the nourishment, for our next steps even if we don’t know what these are yet; Trust that we are part of and being held by something much greater than we are. 

Trust has never been my strong suit but I know more and more I must learn how to let go of my seeming sense of control and allow myself to be held and guided by what is beyond my normal understanding.

I have an intention this Winter and invite you to try it as well: to find more quiet moments every day to simply relax, let go of having to do it all and know it all (and this is an illusion anyway), and find Rest, feeling Trust that all is well, that whatever beautiful new seeds of change that have been planted in you and in your life are being nourished, loved and tended to without your having to do anything but allow.

Let’s try this practice together and see what surprises will emerge in the light and warmth of Spring!

with love and blessings always, Kristine