Balancing New Year Energy With Winter Vibes
I first heard the term “wintering” on a podcast. I’m not sure which one, but author Katherine May was talking about her new book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. The book came out in 2020, and with the way the world was at the time, I’m not surprised that it made it to the best sellers list. This book was on my to-read list, but I admit it took a while for it to make it to the top of the list, mainly because I appreciated the sentiment, but it wasn’t really resonating with me at the time I was listening to that podcast. I also wouldn’t categorize this period in my life as particularly difficult. Challenging and stressful at times yes, but I would generally describe myself as happy and content. My gut reaction every time I would see the book on my to-read was “who has time for that,” which honestly is probably the point.
Randomly or fortunately, the book ended up coming in from the library right before I got sick with Covid after Thanksgiving. Since there was very little I could do while sick, I sped through my stack of library books at a faster clip than normal, which also meant that I ended up reading Wintering because I lacked other options.
I’m not sure you feel this way when you get sick, but I tend to get really depressed. I feel like I’m falling behind in life, that I might never feel better again, that it’s going to take a while to get back to where I was athletically before getting sick, and with Covid, I had the added anxiety of how long is it going to last and am I going to have lingering symptoms. Rationally, I know that those thoughts are ridiculous and that when you are sick you just need to chill out, but tell that to how my body was feeling.
So perhaps Wintering was the perfect book to read at that moment. In 2024, for as much as I want to grow, I’m also trying to embrace seasonality. When I say seasonality, I mean a couple different things. First, I literally mean the seasons. When the days are shorter and colder, physically I tend towards my version of hibernating. I make fewer plans with people. I like to be cozy at home with my books. I like to sleep more. During the warm months, I want to be outside and I want to travel as much as possible. I also mean seasonality when it comes to work and life. My busy season at work is a slow build from January through May, and then is at a high intensity during June and July, and then finally chills out in August.
You cannot be functioning at 100% in all aspects of your life all the time. It just doesn’t (and shouldn’t) work that way. I am trying to be observant of when I am the most enthusiastic about making art, exercising, traveling, working on my website, seeing friends, learning and developing skills, planning, playing, and recognizing when I need to factor in a period of rest.
While I am excited for all of my plans for the upcoming year, I’m also trying to embrace this idea of wintering as I start the year. I am full of energy and I want to be productive, but I also want things to feel slow and gentle. I want to not be exhausted by the time summer rolls around. Perhaps that is my way of embracing my own version of wintering this year. Here are some ways I’m being intentional about my activities during the winter season.
Creating Art
During these colder months, I’m spending more time thinking about paintings that I want to create, ways I want to experiment with new ideas, and areas where I feel like there are holes in my skill set. I also find myself less interested in wanting to document all aspects of the process. I want to paint and not worry about recording video or taking photos all the time. Admittedly, this isn’t great when I also want to grow my online following in the long term. So I find myself trying to think about less intrusive ways to share what I am doing or ways to stretch content in new and interesting ways. I’m also trying to post less and make the individual posts higher quality.
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Exercise
Exercise is huge for me throughout the year. It is how I decompress and how I handle anxiety. I also love to feel strong and capable. I am extremely lucky to be in Colorado where outdoor activities do not stop just because the days are shorter and the temps colder, but riding your bike when it is 40 degrees and you are bundled up is much different than riding when it is 80 degrees and gorgeous. So my goal this winter is just to show up and focus on the activities that make me feel good during the winter. I tend to spend more time doing traditional gym workouts, when my goal is endorphins rather than training for something. My bike rides are not about distance or my mph, but just being outside. Winter also is one of the best times to enjoy bike paths and to see wildlife. I see more hawks and coyotes on my winter bike rides than any other time of the year.
Rest
I’m also trying to embrace the idea that slow days are not necessarily lazy days. Less daylight hours often means I am getting more sleep. I am reading more books and enjoying the second cup of coffee or tea on the weekends that I often skip because I want to go on a hike or ride my bike. I spend more time journaling and thinking. These are all things that I crave during my busy season, so this year I am trying to be grateful for these slower moments, because I know it will pass. The days will get warmer, the colors will change from grays and browns to greens and I’ll want to do ALL OF THE things again.
Do you find that you go through a wintering phase as the seasons change?
Have you read Wintering, and if so, what did you think?