It is cold and the light is dim. Everything in my body is saying snuggle under the blanket and rest.
Our culture is telling me to get up and be productive. Get things done. Don’t miss out. Be grateful for the snow and biting temperatures. Learn to ski or ice skate!
I am grateful for winter. I love the stark beauty of the naked trees and grey landscape. I look to nature for the lesson of lying fallow to enrich the earth and decreased activity when conditions are harsh.
We are a “doing culture” but winter reminds me of the magic and strength of being. I will rest. Spring will be here soon enough.
Quaker Stylist 
Oh yes! The lessons of winter. Remember the weight of our winter clothes before the invention synthetic fabrics? Just wearing them all day was enough to wear you out. And if that wasn’t enough, taking off all the layers when you went inside somewhere, then putting them back on to go home. Then, sinking under the weight of wool winter blankets to rest.
I like to think about the plants deep underground, on the solstice turning their faces to the Light, before the days are truly long, and to imagine creative ideas beginning to sprout in my own subconscious at that same moment.
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The plant metaphor speaks to me too. They appear dead or sleeping and are only waiting for proper conditions to push forth and bloom!
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Ahhhhh, what a relaxing post, the photo, your words . . . nice! We had an ice storm over the weekend. The sky looked exactly like yours, but the trees looked like glass shards poking up from the ground, a little frightening, but beautiful, too.
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Ice storms can be so beautiful and so destructive. I hope you still have power!
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Thanks, we do. Oddly, the houses on half our street did lose power. But it’s back on now.:-)
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I’m imagining a “sleep over” where all the south end of the street brought their pillows and sleeping bags to there neighbors on the north side….or some version thereof.
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So true! We are judged harshly if we rest.
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It is a strange part of our culture, to be sure.
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Everything has an ebb & flow. It’s equally important to rest as it is to be productive.
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Unfortunately some of us have to be really, really tired before we learn that. Sigh.
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Where I live in Switzerland, Covid restrictions have meant a slowing of life altogether and I admit I do not find it unwelcome. Added to that the return of “proper” winter after about 15 years of non-committal ones with barely a snowflake, and many have taken time to stop and smell the snow. It’s been lovely.
While some are chomping at the bit for the return to a so-called “normal” life, nature is gradually doing what she always does, and in due time, there will be a renewal and we will sit among the daffodils and tulips as well as our friends, but I hope we take some time to smell the roses when they bloom, too!
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I will rejoice with you when spring arrives! What is new for me is the enjoyment of winter. Of course, this did require that I retired from the job that required that I get up in the night in a blizzard and go out. Much easier to enjoy winter from inside. 🙂
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I think I must have been a dormouse in some other life as sleeping all winter and waking in the spring often appeals to me, but then I would miss all beauty winter brings. I guess just resting and slowing down is the best option. I agree with you Fawn we do seem to belong to a “doing culture”. But some times I wonder if this is a more recent phenomenon due to the fact we now have access to good lighting 24 hours a day, lots of labour saving devices and easy modes of transport. We no longer have the need to get up with the sunrise and go to bed at sunset and be reliant upon the natural light to get most of our jobs done. I think we can also put unnecessary expectations on our selves to do things and achieve things that really do not need to be done or achieved. I expect this is where being a minimalist can help alleviate such pressures as we can free up more time to relax and enjoy all the beauty around us. Sorry about the essay I got a little carried away!
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Gillian- You are so right! The ability to have light 24/7 has led us to believe “I should be working.” And being a minimalist is a great tool for questioning culture. I do not wish to go back to pre-electric lives, but we need to learn some balance.
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Totally agree Fawn. I am very happy to be living in the era we do, but balance is truly needed.
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