I’ve got to admit winter is my least favorite season. I’m partial to summer for her warmth, her endless blue skies, her way of drawing us outdoors. Winter keeps us hidden in our homes, huddled under thick blankets, waiting for the chill to pass. As a New Yorker, you’d think I’d be used to such unbearable weather. But alas, I escaped to Virginia (for a short while) and the mountains beckon me south.
In light of such a miserable season, I’ve decided to start a series – the quiet winter series. It’ll be a few blog posts just helping us endure what the rest of winter has to hold. With the holidays, it’s easy to bear the cold. But now the real work starts. How do we live our lives without the gloom of the outdoors entering our hearts? Can we make sure that the chill does not make us cold to the needs of the ones we love? How should we navigate the space that is winter while longing for spring?
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These are hard questions, and I will attempt to answer them with you. It’s easy to get caught up in the winter blues, so much so that you no longer try to live a full life. You bury yourself away from all others, waiting for this season to pass quickly. I hope this series helps you lean into winter a tad more. To put your winter blues to work.
“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation”
Paul Theroux
The irony of course is that I’ve found that winter isn’t 100% a season for work. Squaring yourself away can be a tool of stepping back to reevaluate. Of course, there’s the moments in which you languish on the couch and binge watch television. However, I urge you to use winter to prepare for the spring you are waiting for. Don’t let your winter blues turn into spring sorrows.
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When there’s snow on the ground, it’s easy to let ice clog up your heart. We must be active in shielding ourselves from winter’s frigidity. I want to use winter to become someone more peaceful, someone more at rest. In winters past, I would try to give myself a list of goals to achieve only to find I got a few things done, but spent most of my time avoiding all attempts to be productive.
It’s hard to push in winter, and maybe that’s a sign that you should slow down.
There is a fullness in summer and an emptiness in winter. And while it’s easy to make the cold the villain, you may actually discover that the emptiness gives you space to breathe.
In your winter blues, I hope you settle down. Make a warm cup of hot chocolate. Curl up with a blanket you love. Be still for a while. Maybe read. Or write. Resist the urge to force an agenda for this season and accept it for what it is. Cold, perhaps barren. Leaving space for something new to enter in.
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A thought just occurred to me—what if our winters are supposed to be blue? Falling under the sway of gloomy skies. What if we allow ourselves to feel the feelings we’re not always allowed to be feeling? Sadness. Despair. Hopelessness. Instead of shoving down our emotions in a rush for whatever is next, we linger in the chill and let our feelings rise up within us. Giving ourselves permission to feel all that is within us. All the winter blues.
“To keep a warm heart in the winter is the real victory.”
Marty Rubin
And therein lies the reason behind this series. As a summer girl, I want to retain the joy that I have in the summer here in the winter. Its white skies often spur me to sleep for hours on end or hide away from friends and family. But in its best moments, there’s warm chili, watching movies together with hot tea, and big bowls of soup.
If you want something to help you embrace winter, may I highly recommend my *toxic trait* making new playlists! Take some time to curate some of the songs that you love into a playlist that’s moody and feels like winter to you. Maybe that’s a cozy vibe. Or it’s the winter morning quiet energy. Just make a fun playlist you love. I just made a few new playlists—and winter comes in with faded light. I’ll link it here. Kind of folksy, 80s vibe. If you’re into that kind of thing, check it out!
For everything, there is a season, says Ecclesiastes. And this season is winter. May we honor the season we’re in. May we give ourselves permission to feel all the blues. May we cozy on up. May we accept where we are and look to who we may yet become.
Signing off,
Gigi
This post is a short one, but we’re only getting started! What’s your favorite season? If it’s winter, could you tell me why?
