Seasons of Change

We are beginning my favorite month of the year. October has a certain mystery to it. There are sounds, smells, and feelings that I just don’t experience at any other time. The sound of the leaves scraping the ground as the whistling wind gently blows them across empty sidewalks and streets. The chilled air filled with aromatics that come from comforts like fires and baking. Warm blankets and scarves, sweaters and boots, hot chocolate and hot cider, pumpkin everything! Not only is October my absolute favorite month of the year, but it also brings with it the beginning of the end. I struggle in winter. Lethargy, listlessness, and an overall sense of gloominess always seem to takeover. I have spent a lot of time strategizing on how to overcome it this year.

The word winter comes from the old Germanic word which means “time of water”. The water then replenishes the ground to get it ready for another season of growth. This winter, I have decided, is the season to still myself. Still my mind, body, and soul. Winter will be my “time of water”… I will soak in all that I have experienced, so that come spring, everything will have taken root and blossom through summer. I am accepting winter as part of the ebb and flow that is essential to a fulfilled life. I have to wonder if I have struggled with depression in the winter because I was not using this season as its meant to be used. By using winter as a season of replenishment rather than treating it like a season of growth, I will have more substantial harvests.

With this new outlook on the season, it actually makes me excited for winter. I will use this winter to refill my reservoir. This will be my hibernation. Seasons exist for a reason and I am realizing how important it is to treat them accordingly. So if you are like me and struggle with winter, I encourage you to take this shift in perspective. Let’s treat winter as it is meant to be treated- as a time of water. Let us simply soak in what this season offers us and wait to use its offerings until spring…the season of blossoming, then summer the season of growth, and finally, Autumn, the season of harvest.

Begin harvesting… you can begin by picking from the Intentionally Lola podcast. There are tons of great stories and offerings for the taking… fill your baskets my friends.

 

XOXO,
Gina