Slowing Down

As we move into winter through the beauty of autumn, I think I need to acknowledge that I, like the trees around me, begin to shut down a little and go dormant which is not to mean to say that I am asleep, but rather in a state of rest and reflection (not sure if trees reflect, but they certainly rest). 

The world is hostile in winter. It is cold. It is damp. It is dark. So it seems like a good idea to embrace this, to warm myself under blankets, to stay closer to home, to light up the dark evenings and use this time to read, to learn, to plan and to dream. 

I suppose there’s a little bit of that guilt that I’m not doing enough, that I’m not out there, that I’m resting and not doing. I’m not sure where that guilt comes from, as being more in tune with the seasons doesn’t seem to me to be such a bad thing. Everything in nature goes slower, sleeps longer, waits out the cold, so why not me? 

It is October. This is the time when thoughts turn to the darker side of nature. It is all around us decay darkness, death, although in the seeds of all of those is the promise of renewal in springtime. 

Queens sleep underground, waiting to be woken by heat and the scent of flowers. Trees drop their leaves and draw their strength down to their roots, but their little buds are already formed, just waiting for the temperature to rise, and the days to get longer before they burst out into beautiful flower ready to create new life. Birds flock together for warmth, feed together. It’s hard and not all will survive. They too have to wait and hope that they will feel Spring’s warmth. Some birds even thrive in the cold of our winter, feasting on berries or flocking on the water. 

All this is to say that I need to accept that in winter, as the Sun moves away from me, so I move into a period of slowness, so what shall I do with this time?