I was talking to a beloved colleague last semester about taking forever to mark papers. It was late November and he said “I always find myself slowing down at this time of year.” I said I did too and as distressing as I found it having piles of paper to get through, I thought slowing down at that point was natural. “Nature is slowing down and I think we’re meant to do the same thing,” I ventured. There was a spark in his eye then as he said “You know, I never thought of it that way.”
As a mother, educator, wife, writer and budding herbalist I often feel the pressure to go full steam ahead even when I don’t have the energy to. I think part of this has to do with buying into the idea that we always have to be “on”. Another part of this though, is not taking my cues from nature. I remember a long time ago I told my friend Bruce that sometimes I wanted to be out socializing but just as often I wanted to be home writing and being quiet. He replied “Well the moon is not always full.” That wisdom provided the first huge shift in my thinking about my energy and how I used it. Watching the seasons and celebrating them has provided me with my second huge shift.
As a lifelong city dweller I’ve lived much of my life divorced from nature and her cycles. I can eat strawberries in December, write in well-lit rooms at 2am, and work the same schedule year round in an office where I barely catch glimpses of the sunlight or rain. Nothing in the city encourages me to take my cues from nature and we are expected to be as “on” in December as we are in June. But notice: most of the flowers are gone in December. The trees shed their leaves and instead flaunt their elegant bones. The vibrant greens, reds, pinks, and yellows give way to deep browns. Animals hibernate. In the natural world there is stillness. Darkness is abundant at this time and just as the seeds in the earth rest, we too are invited to bask in a long, dark, delicious sleep. This is what winter is for. Going underground to nourish and replenish ourselves.
During fall and winter I make a conscious effort to slow down, rest more, gather my energy and reflect on what I am grateful for. I notice that the more I imitate the energy of the season, the better I feel.
How do you honor the energy of winter?
The Sage Honey 
Yes, so beautifully written and so true. I have been hibernating for the last weeks and faintly feeling guilty about it. But what a nonsense, of course we need to slow down. Thank you!
Greetings, Babs! 🙂 Nothing where I live encourages me to even sit down and relax, let alone go to bed early or spend time reflecting. I too have had to toss that guilty feeling aside and embrace getting the rest my body demands and deserves. I feel so much better for it.
one love,
Ekere
During the colder months, I consider myself a “Bear Woman” and allow myself to burrow deeper into my home, get quieter, limit social engagements and errands. I’ve taught my family that this is the lull of my/our year, and that it’s imperative to slowly and deeply nourish ourselves with food and herbs, restful days in our sanctuary (home), gentle music and good company. I save my seed catalogs for the first snow of the season, then spend the afternoon by the fire with them and a pot of tea and dream about my garden.
This sounds heavenly. Your family is blessed to have you showing them this way of honoring the season and their connection to it. Were you brought up to live in synch with the seasons or is this something you began doing on your own?
one love,
Ekere
I’ve been using sleep to fight the seasonal cold I often get around yuletide.
Greetings, Philippe. I am with you on this. When I feel a cold or cough coming on I often feel drawn to sleep, wake up to drink tea, and go back to sleep. It’s true that so many illnesses could be prevented– or stopped in their tracks– if we took the medicine of sleep.
one love,
Ekere
What a slap of perspective!!! I know now not to fight my urge to rest more and create at a more leisurely pace, to sleep longer, to eat more hearty foods and be more snuggly with my loved ones. Like you, I’d never thought of it that way, and now that I have, I will always honor the seasons. I made a conscious effort to not eat off season some years ago, I guess now I have to make my efforts extend to the rest of my life! Thank you for this post!
Uzuri, you are so welcome. I am thrilled that you also brought eating more seasonally into the discussion. I’ve found that imitating the rhythm of the season and eating those hearty stews that call my name at this time really does nourish my immune system and my spirit. And snuggling–yes! I think that’s great for the immune system too. 🙂
one love,
Ekere
if i ever lost my mouth, i’d live vicariously through you ekere.
🙂
Thankfully, we have YOUR voice!
One,
Ekere
i have a one month old that has horrible congestion an cant of course cough it up. can you recommend something i can give her?
I am sorry to be responding to you so late. By now you (and your baby) have worked through this. What did you do? I tended to use breast milk for every ailment. 🙂 I’d also liberally drink teas that alleviate congestion (mullein or red clover in particular) and let the baby get them through my breast milk.
One,
Ekere