Living Mindfully

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May has taught me much.

Upon entering this new year in my ninth decade, I decided I’d follow the Celtic Calendar’s eight seasons. First, I re-read Linda M. Hasselstrom’s “The Wheel of the Year: A Writer’s Workbook” to guide my journey. (Here’s a review of Hasselstrom’s book, which is presently being re-printed.) Soon I decided to search for an epiphany in 2023 to give me deeper insights to bring into my self and my writing life.

Then I discovered Mays’ Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, and sensed it would enrich my journey. And so, indeed, it has. Deeply.

“Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle. It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment, for putting your house in order,” May says in her opening chapter.

A true seasonal slowing down is something I’ve never mindfully done in all my years. This new year was surely the right time and I am fully immersed. Periodically I’ll be writing about my passage through the seasons here.

I’ve journaled a broad selection of notes to enhance my winter months. I highly recommend May’s writing about her experiences in a broad range of wintering activities. Some are surprising (swimming with a Polar Bear Club) yet have sound reasoning. Overall, each has the ability to stitch healing throughout a long cold winter.

With much enthusiasm, I recommend “Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times.” In my past lifestyle, a deliberate, focused winter slow-down was an unknown. Hopefully you are well aware of the concept and, if so, Wintering will bring several new ideas to you. I leave you with May’s words:

“Doing those deeply unfashionable things – slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting – is a radical act now, but it is essential.”