As the days grow shorter, we take stock of our spiritual resources. For most of us, winter no longer poses the survival risk that it once did for our ancestors. Our access to food and shelter is not diminished as the Earth goes into sleep under a blanket of frost.
No, for most of us winter tests not our health but our temperance. As the days grow shorter and we find ourselves spending more and more time amidst the dark, it is no surprise our own dark places come up to meet us.
I know my own heart seems to be visited by something old every year around this time. I am ill-equipped to name it as my known ancestors did not contend with winters that looked like this. It feels like I am following the footsteps of the folktale Vasalisa, my life becoming mysterious, almost ‘other’ and I (like Vasalisa) must rely on my instincts to guide me.
I believe I am not alone in this feeling. Even those I know who love winter, who feel more at home in its early dusk than I do, speak about the depth this season brings.
So, what does this season asks of us?
Think of summer as the season of success, like an actress at the peak of her fame she has movies to her name, affluence, and accolades. She immerses herself in interesting projects, life in this stage would feel like a blessing, an affirmation of our essence.
Then imagine Autumn as an invitation to separate herself from those external triumphs. Not because she is not those things (she made them happen) but because she is MORE than those things.
And so, as the leaves fall her projects space out, her name grown silent and right about now she is at the threshold of Fall and Winter. Having peeled off the external, she is asked whether she values herself without all those decorations?
Can she sit with herself? With who she truly is, and feel proud? Can she fall in love with her bare face or does she need the glamour of summer?
And the same question is posed to all of us.
When we turn towards Winter we are looking at Life at its most essential.
It is a season of connecting with our loved ones.
It is a season of indoors and a slower pace.
It is a season of savoring food and creating comfort.
It is a season of sitting with ourselves and our rough corners.
And doing the work of loving them.
For me, this particular Winter has me revisiting my willingness to seek help. Not because things are going poorly, but rather because I feel called to evolve to something even more fulfilling. And my Intuition tells me knows this is not a solo journey.
This has brought unexpected resources, conversations, and discoveries, and winter hasn’t even truly begun!
Did you know that by the time the leaves fall the new bud is already there?
It’s almost invisible in the poor winter light, but look up at the branches on your walk and you will see it there. Waiting for spring.
This is why I invite you to dive into the quality of your Wintering. This will be the quality that then will become new life in the New Year.
By beginning to connect with it now, you are inviting your soul to co-create the new cycle with you.
You are giving your subconscious time to integrate this quality into your desires and shape powerful goals.
By turning to our soul at this, the darkest, time of the year. We are training ourselves to turn towards it first and always.
Does this sound enticing? I invite you to join me for a Free Guided Meditation to cross this Winter threshold with intention and to register for my Intuitive Planning Workshop for 2022 to kickstart a magnetic and meaningful year.
Until we meet again my friend, Happy Wintering and Happy Holidays.
May the darkness ignite your deepest light.
