A Wintering Woman.

I am learning how to Winter.

Learning how to Winter well – for my wellness – for the wealth of my health.

For the wealth of my ness – for my womanness.

I want to understand the gifts of being wo.man.

I want to know the gifts of nature, of the seasons – and such.

And I want to receive the gifts of such.

“Winter is a time of life and death,” she said.

“There are times that death turns into life,” the other said.

A time of external death. When things come to an end (for the season).

When life has run its course for the year. Nature has shared her fruits and blooms – and now she lets go, releases – she lets it all fall, and stands naked as life outside goes dark.

And in the nakedness, she begins to find warmth and light inside.

She de.lights.

The woman who Winters well (for wellness and for the wealth of her health), brings light and warmth inside her home. Into her physical home, into her psyche, and into her body.home.

She surrounds herself with candles, twinkle lights, soothing lamps, and warm fire.

Early Winter festivities include bringing in the greenery of wreaths and trees of fir. 

A woman who Winters well keeps the “connection cords” of festivities together. For a woman with children near and far, this connection cord of delight becomes the umbilical cord to keep her family connected.

Even though the light outside has become dark – she de.lights inside with festiveness.

The festiveness of harvest and thanksgiving, in pre-winter, when it seems the sun is dying.

She keeps the de.lights inside, knowing the sun will rise again in the next season to come.

Winter is but one season that gives life its seasoning.

The seasons give flavor and zest to our everydayness.

Winter is a grand season of saffron; if you have the taste for it.

Winter holidays become holy days. There are ancient rituals to be celebrated and brought into our lives of now.

There are beautiful traditions that speak to the delights of a woman’s heart. The heart of holyness and of sacredness; are but two ingredients for the Wintering Pie of Wellness.

Winter traditions become healing transitions.

I can not say enough – about the enoughness – of the holyness from old, brought into the new.now.ness of daily life.

It is spiritual inner light. Inner light that shines when the darkness looms.

Inner light that shines on the dark makes dark come to light. This is the psychology of mental heal(th)ing.

This is Wintering Wellness.

A woman’s wellness to be creative with holy days, with traditions of old and new. With rituals to nurture, grow, and birth her inner, spiritual, soulful light.

A woman who delights in Winter, begins to shine her light.

Wintering is how we begin; to heal a woman’s sadness.

Wintering becomes a searchlight for what has been lost.

To shine light on our own hearts.

I can not say enough – about the enoughness – of this kind of inner light.

In search of our heart’s delights. 

Twinkle lights shine where the sparkle in a woman’s eye has gone dim.

Feathers of down, comfort that which has become cold.

Sauna drips away the psyche’s toxins of fear, doubt, and all things of less to no worth.

Slumber becomes the beauty product for Winter.

Soups and broth become the ointment to warm and heal our bones.

Sauna, slumber, and soups; this is the seasoning and spice of Winter.

There are women who have lost their zest.

And women finding zest for life in the seasoning of the seasons.

Mainstream culture tastes stale. It’s become artificially modified and has lost its flavor – and we are losing our ability to taste the difference. Sad this is. 

SAD: seasonal affective disorder. 

We are craving some zest.

The unsatisfied buds of your tongue that has gone numb; you crave what you don’t know you crave.

It is a “craving that so many of us will recognize. Have we really gotten so far into the realm of electric lights and central heating that the rhythm of the year is irrelevant to us, and we no longer even want to notice the point at which the nights start getting shorter again.”

If our current society lacks to offer us the meaning (zest) we seek, then it’s entirely reasonable to reimagine the old ways of doing it, or to create new ones. *

The craving for ritual. The craving for spice in life. To season ourselves amidst artificial staleness.

You will find soul.ution in the seasons.

If you find yourself doing and consuming everything, and now realize that everything has become nothing, you might be ready to Winter.

If your life looks like one long haze of frantic activity with all the meaning sheared away – you might be ready to Winter.

Winter offers the chance to shear and shed useless doing. 

It’s a time to rest and reflect.

It’s a time to cozy up with our womanness.

A time to invite the light of newness so our hearts and our lives can begin to delight again.

Winter offers a different kind of luxury: the luxury of time.

To cuddle with the luxury of time is to understand a luxury of life.

A life of being woman is delightful – full of delights.

Cheers to the seasonings of Winter.

 

laura

 

 

Notes: excerpt from Wintering