As you move through your day today – on the morning after the eve of the shortest day of the year – and as many of us head into the hustle of travel, entertaining, and holiday breaks with family, I invite you to pause for just a few minutes to consider the biological significance of this unique time of year.
Winter herself is subtle.
In fact, for many of us, winter is almost ignorable.Plugged into the grid of technology, city living, access and human doing, we leverage the tools at our disposal to avoid the weight of the season. When the night is dark, we simply turn on another light. Have another drink. Watch one more Hallmark movie on TV.
Yes, we face snowstorms that cause traffic and air travel delays, but by and large we make our way around, over, and through the obstacles that lady winter sends our way. Over the past few decades, our technological advancements … combined with a milder weather in places where her bite was historically fierce, our collective ability to opt out of winter is on the rise.
For some, however, she is utterly inescapable.
Indeed, for those who live close to the land, in geographies where winter still clings with a tight grip, the demand she makes on our human attention can feel immense.
But also, for those who still feel the biological pull to go inward, go dormant, be still or even grieve at this time of year… winter holds a certain gravitas – even magic – that may offer either deep solace, or a sense of danger (or both).
Winter. Stillness. Subtlety. Quietude.
Like entering a cave at dusk with only a small candle in hand, not knowing how deep the tunnel goes or how long it will take until you are ready to emerge. It’s no wonder we tend to opt out if we can.
What awaits us in the chilly pause before the spring, the sun, and new life finally returns?
The brave ones will dare to ask the question. Not because they should… but because they genuinely want to know. What if the stillness has the power to reveal a hidden truth, the likes of which has been holding you back for years? What if the only way to fully understand the gift you came here to bring was to listen? And what if there’s gold in that cave, just waiting to be found?
And if you’re thinking to yourself: “that sounds great, but I’ve got a lot to do and honestly I would prefer NOT to look…” you’re not alone.
Personally, I must confess that I broke some significant promises to myself over the past few weeks leading up to the end of the year – promises I’ve made to lead and create in more patient, easeful and centered way. The draw of year-end-goals were just too seductive for my ego this time. In ways that may have even been imperceptible to others (but were wreaking havoc on my own nervous system) I could feel myself leaning in, listening less, and getting more intense as the final few days of last week unfolded.
Despite having countless tools and years of practice, I am conscious of the times when I still lose my ground. It’s sobering. And (to myself, and my own precious body) I’m sorry.
NOT because I did anything wrong. But because those promises mattered.
To me.
As I sat resistantly in stillness last night, on the eve of the shortest day of the year, I could sense both the cost and the way forward.
This, I believe, is the GIFT of wintering.
And for this reason, I want to invite you in. This week, between shopping trips, family dinners and hot coco dates with friends, I invite you to spend some time with lady winter herself.
Because you are a leader, I dare you to practice opting in where others choose to opt out.
Whether you live in sunny Miami or frigid Vancouver, see if you can create some space in your day to slow down enough on the inside to listen, learn and begin to reset.
Consider how you work, and how it’s working for you. Take some time to reflect on the promises you made to yourself: last month, last quarter, or even last year.
And if you wish, spend some time in embodied practice, or design a mid-winter ritual, with this question in mind. Below are a few resources to support you in the wintering process.
- Into the Well Guided Meditation/Practice (download) – set aside 15 minutes. Choose a question, topic, or emotion you are grappling with. Allow your body to take the shape of that grapple. Follow where it goes. Feel what there is to feel. At the end, capture notes on your experience in a journal.
- Wintering: Solstice 2024 5-Elements Movement Playlist (listen on Spotify)– set aside 45 minutes. Start sitting or lying down. Allow your body to move like earth, water, fire, air and ether/spirit. At the end, ask your body what it knows. Take note of the answers.
Wintering Reflection Questions:
- How do you embrace wintering? How do you avoid it?
- What’s your hunch about what’s under the surface, or in the cave, that you’re keeping your distance from?
- What promises have you kept this year? Which ones have you broken?
- What wants to be birthed by you, or through you, that may be in the gestation process now?
Whether you’re a business leader, an audacious entrepreneur or a stay-at-home mom, I trust that winter (perhaps a woman herself!) has gifts for you at this time.
Enjoy the journey,
PS – are you hungry for support to take stock and re-set your life, work or leadership in 2025? You don’t have to do it alone. Book a discovery call HERE.
