Embracing Seasonal Change and Prioritizing Rest
How and when do you prioritize rest?
I saw a great meme on social media the other day and while I'm paraphrasing it said something along these lines:
"What if instead of working as hard as you can in order to feel deserving of a brief rest break, you took all the rest you needed in order to prepare yourself to do really good work?
This hit me in a really powerful way.
Our society tends to view busyness as a badge of honor and at worst, rest seems to be synonymous with lazy, or at best, as a reward to be taken only after it has been hard earned.
October has been one heck of a month for me and for the last few days I was able to put aside my computer and just be with family and friends.
It feels really well deserved AND I wish it could feel like less of a reward for what I've already done and more of a preparation for what is yet to come.
This time of year is all about transitions but it is also a time when things seem to really ramp up, at least in the human world.
The looming holidays create an energetic snowball that all leads up to flipping the page on a calendar and the urge to revamp our entire lives, starting over on “day 1”.
But what if we took a cue from nature around us?
The bears and squirrels are fattening up and preparing for their long winters' naps.
Birds have headed to warmer climates and the leaves are mostly off the trees.
The days are getting shorter and colder and darkness is lingering in the morning as well as creeping in earlier in the afternoon.
It's funny how easy it is to forget that we are actually animals.
While we may not need to sleep all winter like some of our mammalian cohorts, we are built to rest more this time of year.
Before the invention of electricity so that lights could wake us up early and keep us up late.
Before the internet so that we could stay connected around the clock.
We were bound by the limitations of nature.
I do not believe we are meant to operate at the same energetic capacity year round.
Spring and summer are times of awakening and abundance, full of light and life.
Fall and winter are times of rest, gathering and storing our resources, preparing for the rebirth of the abundant seasons once again when the time comes.
I spent the last few days at our family cottage in Canada, helping my mom close up the cottage for the winter.
Our cottage is not “winterized” meaning that while we CAN use it during the deep winter months, it does not function at its best this time of year and there are things that need to be done to prepare it to weather the cold and snow.
We need to turn off the water and drain the lines.
We pack up bedding and draw the blinds, secure windows and doors.
We empty cupboards and leave the seasonal clothes that we will not need until we return in the spring.
Essentially we put our beloved family cottage to bed for her long winter's nap.
We have been doing this dance at the end of October for over 60 years.
And every year, as we pull out of the driveway for the last time of the season, we honk our horns to a now empty house, and say “see you next year Oxbow, good lord willing and the creek don't rise!”
It can feel sad to say goodbye for so many months but we also know that pushing it past its natural capabilities could actually compromise the house and its components in critical ways.
This is what I have come to realize about my own body, mind, and spirit.
In my late 40's I'm finally recognizing that it is unfair for anyone to ask me to perform at the same pace day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year - EVEN MYSELF.
I am a being of the seasons and as such I not only to need to react to what's been but to prepare for what's to come.
With another summer come to a close, another October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month about to end, I'm looking forward to the coming weeks and months as a chance to slow down and simplify life.
I'll still be working with clients - both in person and online.
I'll still be sharing my workshop and probably creating some new ones too.
I'll still be working with my non-profit as well as making time for family and friends.
But I'll also be staying in more - choosing fires and tea over drinks on patios.
I'll be pulling out my yarn and needles and putting away my bike.
I'll be leaning into the shorter days instead of trying to milk the last moments of light out of the sky.
I'll be inviting more rest in to my life in the form of preparation instead of reward.
And I invite you to do the same.
The winter light and bare trees are just as beautiful in their own way as the full summer sun and greenery.
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