Photo: Ranch in winter - Ovando, Montana (2017). Copyright SJPhotography.Winter: An Unbidden Revolt into Nothingness (Includes Guided Meditation)
The seasons of life breathe as the loving rhythm of this world, of nature, and then graciously breathes into our lives of flesh and bone. Yet, acceptance of this instinctual rhythm falters at times, and waxes and wanes. The relentless pulse of urgency and the song of “what’s next” supersedes our call to rest and pulls us from one moment to the next. We miss out on the brilliant need for Now – for what is extraordinary about this moment and this season. We long for what is ahead while standing indifferent and jaded to what is Here.
I wonder at my own hurry to get to what is next, and for something to be revealed that is new, exciting, and fresh. Tired or bored of the same weathered day in whatever season it may be. But today I am reminded, given clarity and gratitude for the beauty and blessing of this February day. The mountains surrounding me are dusted and covered with snow and ice – like heavy white frosting poured over every peak and range – overflowing and dripping down its sides. Bundled bodies move by quickly on errands and destinations unknown, the grey exhaust of spent heat trails behind each moving car, and grey smoke and ash billow out from neighboring chimney tops – a sign of warmth within. There is a tangible bliss when heat meets frozen fingertips, cold noses, and chilled skin – a welcome relief and contrast of comfort and warmth.
On this February day, I feel liberation and deep relief as I arrive home and realize how tired I am; grateful to let go, unfurl, accept coziness, and the invitation to heed the inner call for rest and stillness. I allow myself to give over to my own instincts for hibernation – and what that means to me. This timeless offering of respite and curing is granted to all even if unrecognized or unappreciated. It is nature’s rhythm – it is the heartbeat and life-giving breath of earth – the ceaseless, seasonal activity of life itself. The cycles of birth to decay – sprout to husk – emerging, nourishing, growing, and ripening to bounty, gathering, and harvest to reseeding, gifting, slowing down, and giving over life unto death, resting and stillness, and back again.
Look to the seasons when choosing your cures.
I surrender to the truth of this cold day, this wintery dullness that shades the sun with merging dull clouds creating an endless grey ceiling to my world’s stage.
I accept the respite that winter offers me – a time to resign to the wisdom of nature that does not resist but wholly embraces this time of suspense, rest, and fervent dormancy.
An unbidden excuse to revolt into nothingness, turn off TV, phone, and tablet; reflect, pause, slumber, unfurl and let what was, and of seasons past dissolve into the ethers of time and space, and let go of “what’s next” to the worries of tomorrow.
I am inspired during this Winter season by Winnie the Pooh when he says:
People say nothing is impossible. But I do nothing every day.
_Winnie The Pooh, “Positively Pooh: Timeless Wisdom from Pooh”
I am drawn to the barren branches of trees and forest, and the still breath of silence, icy tranquility, and the slowed pace of things. I am beckoned to sit and hold steady in Winter’s naked, quiet, and peaceful expanse of just This. Even bears with their voracious appetites and wild, wandering ways give over to the wisdom of seasonal needs, and bodily instincts and find comfort in the deepest caves. A time-out for rejuvenation, a break to shut watchful eyes and set aside the old world for a time, restore tired muscles and limbs, and let healing and renewal have their time.
I find respite, an opportunity for self-love and acceptance in the invitation to pause – the pleasure of giving up the guilt-ridden shoulds and musts of Spring, Summer, and Fall for the shoulds and musts of Winter’s coming. I should take nature’s lead during this Winter season and slow down; take time to care for myself and recover my physical, mental, and spiritual being. I should honor my partnership with the whole – with nature and embrace what this season asks of me, offers me, and allows me to learn or unlearn, to do or not do as an act of self-care and transformation. I must learn to embrace and honor my own seasonal and numinous needs, and bodily instincts.
Nature’s brilliance and wisdom to maintain balance, abundance, life, and death in the simplicity of its unapologetically, ceaseless cycles – is my teacher and guide. Each flower, bud, leaf, grassy field, bear, butterfly, rock, mountain, and tree is deeply connected to and in harmony with the whole, and is my invitation to surrender in kind to this sacred dance. Alex Elle affirms this instinct and says…
There is something beautiful about choosing yourself after spending so long doing the opposite.
Even though today comes with its long, grey stillness squeezed tightly by the dark bookends of dawn and dusk, and I yearn for summer’s sunshine and warmth I feel and know there is a reason for this time of Winter.
Even though I long to stand with nature, feel the sun’s warmth on my skin, breathe in its aliveness, and become part of its connective tissues again I know that time will come but Now offers me exactly what I need.
Even though I wish for the days of feeling and hearing the crunch-crunch-crunch of dirt and stone beneath my feet as I hike my rocky trails I know the time to abide is Now even as my memories beckon me to then and when.
Even though the warm perfume of pine needles and wildflowers in spring tempts me with candied scent for every in-breath I embrace the art of seasonal dormancy and remain steadfast in this Winter moment of Here and Now.
I endure the cold and embrace the long hibernation and repose that Winter offers without apology. It is the necessary landing before stepping into spring refreshed and ready for Summer and then Fall. We stow along with the seasons and give little notice to the cycles and recurring patterns that have witnessed our every breath, day, month, and year. Henry David Thoreau highlights our need to…
Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.
Join me now for a moment of meditation (in the audio podcast) to notice this time of quiet and stillness lulling you to just be; imagining yourself having the instincts of a bear and the time has come to go into hibernation. Feel the pull of this deep inner call to rest – to slow down, and allow your being to just be HereNow.
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