Nurture in winter
It’s January!
So we’ve had our first week of January - how many of us have started with a bang and how many are just making the first step into the new year and all it brings with resolutions, intentions and goals? And how many are stepping out of slumber?
Where are you in all this?
It’s an odd one this year because the first week of January was slightly messed up with the kids going back to school on a Wednesday - I also had meetings that day so the jolt back into work and life was uncomfortable and bumpy. I imagine most of us will be sensibly taking the plunge this week rather than last.
So what are our expectations at this time of year? It’s a new year, new beginnings, we can say goodbye to the old, the things that are not serving us or helping our progress, and start afresh. There are many ways out there to work through this process and we all have our own methods, depending how deep you want to go with it (and you can download my Wintertime reflect and restart here). But the immediacy of the ‘New’ year, jump back into it after a couple of weeks of slumber with full bells ringing seems a little too much perhaps, a little extreme.
After all, it’s still winter. And it will be for some time yet.
So how about a different approach to this. I’d like to introduce to you the idea of emergence. Lets talk about cycles - cycles in nature. We know that the plants and seeds and flowers that are hidden from us at this time of year are underground, resting and gathering energy. They’re not popping up half way through winter’s frost and ice with new shoots - which would simply mean their vulnerability would bring instant demise. The conditions aren’t right yet and their energy needs to build up in order to push through.
And so let’s take a lesson here, let’s set intentions, yes, but with the idea of emergence let’s allow these intentions to grow, emerge through winter, so that we are then able to gather energy and bring ideas to light ready for spring. Let’s do this through nurture and self care and follow the seasonal patterns.
The transition from our western winter holidays, festivities and bling, to the mundanity of life in the dark months of January and February (I speak from the UK here) can be a little rough. Let’s make it a bit easier on ourselves by following nature’s lead, and nurture ourselves a little better through the winter time.
When you’re ready to step into spring (or if you’re still feeling sluggish from winter blues) then sign up to the newsletter to find out first about ‘Spring into Spring’ a series of sessions over 4 weeks to boost your vitality.
Let me know how you get on and share your go to wintertime self care tactics!
Kate
