I do not plan to start anew in January that is for spring this is the night in the dead of winter where I pare back excess to reach the bones of my life so when I am reborn I am reborn as only my most essential nature - David Gate, via Instagram (Big thanks to C and R for sharing this on insta!)
Hello and Merry Christmas from Yerevan, Armenia. My enthusiasm for the start of the new year wore off as soon as I realised we’re now officially in the dead of winter, that once I’m back in Massachusetts next week, it will be another three to four months before we feel any warmth again.
Every year I tell myself the lie that winter is my second favourite season. But then the cold settles in and I am forced to put my bike away and bundle up before my walks and quickly become resentful of the weather. It’s the snow that I love, the way the sky blushes pink the night before a storm and the crunch of fresh powder underfoot that draws me to winter. But the chill and dark of the “season of the sticks” before snowfall? I blame it wholly for sapping my energy and killing my social life. It doesn’t help that I have a perrenial vitamin D deficiency or that those light therapy lamps are always sold out by the time I remember to buy one.
how do you cope with the winter months?
This year, I’m trying a different approach. I’m going to focus on the beauty of winter light by arranging my schedule to get as much sunlight as possible each day. I’m rethinking my relationship to the dark months.
published an article about adjusting to the winter light for her newsletter, The Clearing, that has stuck with me and is changing the way I interact with winter light. Here’s one item from her list that particularly struck me:Let your behaviour change
For those of us who live far from the equator, the year is in constant flux. It’s only in the past century or so that we’ve been able to live exactly the same life regardless of the season. And yet, despite all our efforts with heating systems and light bulbs, we still feel the pull of winter on our minds and bodies. Winter light invites us to sleep differently, to rest more, to retreat, reflect and contemplate. This cyclical way of life helps us to find balance across the course of the year. We cause ourselves real pain when we resist it.
In the midst of the New Year festivities, I forgot how vulnerable I feel during the month of January. I wrote out — literally as soon as I woke up on the morning of January first — all the bad habits I want to be rid of and the changes I want to make in my life in 2024. I can clearly see a path to my self-fulfillment but in the meantime I’m stuck with the reality of being an imperfect person who is aware of her flaws. It’s almost as if change requires more work than just journalling! Gah!
But the slow, dark cold of winter is perfect for this pupal state. In my last post, I wrote about the lofty intentions I have for myself for this coming year. In order to achieve them, I will need to shed the excess so that my mind can focus on the necessary. This winter, I want to cocoon myself in books and theory and come the spring, maybe I’ll emerge anew: smarter, wiser, with more to say and more precise words to say what I mean.
books on my list this year
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Orientalism by Edward Said
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Leguin
This Arab is Queer by multiple authors, edited by Elias Jahshan
The Life and Death of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
A Life of One's Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again by Joanna Biggs
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
How to Blow Up A Pipeline by Andreas Malm
The Art of Eating by M. F. K. Fisher
I’d love to hear what you’re reading, too! As always, thank you for reading <3
I love this! I love the way you describe the light in winter. Also trying to embrace winter as a season for rest 💖 I'll be continuing my way through the Earthsea Cycle!
"Imperfect person" is redundant! The best New Year's resolution I've ever heard was from someone who said hers was to eat 5 new kinds of cheese that year. :)