This is the second in a two post series on embracing the gifts of winter’s energy. You’ll find part 1 here.
It's winter. I've been watching myself, and most of the folks around me, scrambling to do all the things -- celebrate the holidays, take care of each other, prepare for the huge challenges to come, clean up the yard, make new year’s resolutions... all the things on our many lists, plus all the other stuff that just lands in our laps.
But winter is a time for slowing down,
for resting,
for silence.
Winter is a time for letting things settle,
building up our reserves,
sorting out what we want for the year to come.
I was delighted to find in my inbox Dr. Liz Carter’s lovely reminders about how Chinese medicine sees winter, and why January is NOT the time to start acting on your New Year’s Resolutions. I could not have said it better, and so I want to share it with you.
Dr. Liz says in part:
“Chinese medicine teaches that winter is a time of rest and rejuvenation where we restore from the hustle and intensity of the rest of the year.
The priority of the body and mind are to preserve and protect us to ensure we survive until spring.
Winter is the time of the dormant seed, or stored energy. It’s planted, but not yet ready to sprout.
Pushing ourselves into doing all the things in the dead of winter is in direct conflict with the seasonal forces.
New beginnings and growth belong to the birth energy of the spring season.”
You can find more of Dr. Liz’s reflections on winter on her blog.
Weaving the Threads Together
In the last post, I shared Pablo Neruda’s poem, Keeping Quiet, and shared my disquiet with having to separate that reflection from this one – the external focus from the internal, the make-the-world-better lens from the make-better-choices-about-nurturing-myself lens.
So here, I will try to weave them together.
Especially right now, with so many of us so afraid of what this year may bring and so aware of all the suffering happening right now, the need to push into the energy of action, to know the answers, to be decisive, is strong.
It is strong, and,
this is not the moment to embrace that energy.
I am not saying we can just sit back right now. I am saying that doing the parts of the work that are most in alignment with the season will make us stronger, better able to bring into the world what is most important to us.
So yes, do the things that most need doing. Take care of the people you love, and also find ways to support people you don’t know who are suffering. Tidy up the things that are in the way of you being able to bring your best to your life, your work, and the transformations you want to see.
Get quiet. Listen for wisdom. Plant the seeds. And trust that the energy of spring will come, and with it, the energy to do the things that matter most.
How is this landing for you? I'd love to hear in the comments.
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