
Are we there yet?
These winters up north stretch on and on. Short wave patterns of monochrome days, early dusk, dim shadows and the hush of the planet holding her breath. Endless.
Last fall I decided this was going to be the year I made winter my bitch. I would tackle the season proactively – make it a time that served me rather than I season I had to endure.
So I divided it into three phases; Reflection, Refraction and Restoration.
Reflection was the time between the change to Daylight Savings and the Winter Solstice. I planted 100 spring bulbs (better late than ever) put our outdoor lights up right after the time change (because it was so effing dark all the sudden), trimmed the tree, stuffed the mantle with fresh greens and put cinnamon on pretty much everything. Ho, ho, ho.
Refraction (in scientific lingo, the change in direction of a ray of light) I assigned to mid-winter – between the Winter Solstice and the end of January. This I decided would be the time to let go of all things that no longer served, to rest, to regroup and to dream. I changed my hair color (because that’s always fun), cleaned up my diet (yet again) and re-committed to daily mediation practice.
And so here we stand at the edge of my arbitrary third phase, Reawakening, which will end with the Spring Equinox. Now is the time to plan and take action. To generate the momentum that will allow for a dramatic spring forward. In this phase, I decided to jump in with both feet to a new YouTube channel – Ryan and I are creating it together – still learning the ropes and so far, it’s been a blast. (You can subscribe here).
Dreaming of the spring,
