In the Bleak Midwinter is a lovely poem written by the English poet Christina Rossetti and commonly performed as a Christmas Carol sung by many musical artists. I grew up in church singing this every year and came to love it. I encourage you to find it on YouTube and listen to it in its entirety.
"In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago..."
I am wintering. My body, mind, and soul are preparing for the longer days ahead with gradual increases in light. I am tapping into quiet energy that will sustain me for the rest of January, February, and March before Spring arrives in 2024.
After the hubbub of the holiday festivities and slowly recovering from the cooking, eating, and entertaining, my body is in need of REST. This year was so special hosting family and friends in our new home, and we all remained well and unscathed from the lurking viruses that are ever present around us.
Currently I am choosing quiet activities of reading, writing, crocheting, and snuggling under my favorite blanket in order to reset my "slightly overstimulated" central nervous system. Winter evenings are sometimes spent with dear friends and neighbors sharing meaningful conversation and joy to lift our spirits which can easily find us in an occasional post holiday funk. These choices leave me feeling renewed and peaceful. Even when my head becomes cranky due to any number of triggers, I am tending to it carefully, and my body thanks me graciously for doing so.
I have experienced all four seasons here in PA which have seamlessly floated from one to the other. WOW. It is hard to comprehend. It has been a very busy and exciting year of transition so slowing down my pace for the rest of winter is a needed intention.
I offer you, my friends, to possibly take a look at how you might wish to "winter". Do you think your pace and activities might need another perspective for a few weeks or months? Can you observe the small, subtle lengthening of the days with the placement of light and shadows? How about the magnificent moonlight against the clear January sky?
May you embrace grace in this new year no matter what journey (difficult or easy) lies ahead. God is with you always.
