Lean into the season and lean away from urgency
Winter is finally here. Changing seasons creates a natural transition we can either embrace or resist. It’s not often I run across someone who is excited by winter. But maybe that is because southerners love all things sunshine and warmth. Don’t get me wrong, I do not look forward to darkness at 5:00pm, or bundling up my entire body just to walk from my car to my office. But with the change in weather winter can bring an opportunity to shift our routines, mindset, and energy. Winter in the natural world marks a season of rest, and hibernation. Living things are going inward, temporarily shutting down, and relying upon all of their efforts from the earlier months to get them through until spring. When I think about our human approaches to winter, it often feels like we are resisting nature’s example and instead speeding up to race through to the end of the year. I see this within workplace culture as the rush to finalize projects and budgets before the holiday shutdown, as well as in personal spaces as people are rushing to prepare for their holiday celebrations and time gathering with loved ones. December can become a month where there aren’t enough hours to complete your tasks, leaving you depleted while attempting to celebrate your holiday of choice.
I find myself wondering what would happen if we too embraced the season of winter. What if, we leaned into slower paces of work, allowing for rest, pause, and contemplation rather than deadline completion. We as humans have created this sense of urgency that is now driving our nervous system into a place of stress. So what if we take a step back and question what really is the need for the rush? Could we start by setting boundaries to create reasonable work expectations knowing that this isn’t going to be our most productive season but it will still be fruitful. What if slower paces allowed for reflection, contemplation and preparation for times ahead?
Our personal life culture isn’t a reprieve from the urgency either. Holiday seasons bring busier social calendars than all the other seasons combined. I see so many people rushing to complete their personal to dos to ensure all decorating, shopping, baking, and traveling is done with a specific date in mind. So let’s consider for just a moment what leaning into winter could mean. What if you simplified your to-dos, let go of your own deadlines, and said no to some of your social calendar. Would increasing your energy allow you to better enjoy the present moment spent with the loved ones you’ve worked so hard to gather with? While I love to stay busy, what if reducing your schedule actually allowed you to feel more connected and mentally grounded?
As you approach the last week of 2023 I challenge you to consider what it would look like for you to lean into the season. For me, this means a lot more unstructured time. More time spent at home, resting my body, and filling my mind with reading, contemplation and reflection. If this idea is one you find intriguing, I recommend reading Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. This book was suggested to me by a close friend who so kindly called me out on my own burnout cycle and suggested there might be a different way. My hope is that you too might find a change of pace as a comfort during our shorter days and colder months.
