When Nature Calls Us to Seek Stillness
Today is the shortest day of the year–the winter solstice. On this day, the earth’s North pole reaches the farthest distance from the sun, making the sun lie at its lowest point in the sky. Every day after this day becomes gradually longer (as measured by the amount of sunlight) until we reach the longest day exactly six months later.
“Nature provides us with many cues–we are part of it, not separate from it.”
Since embarking on my path of intentional living, marking the passage of seasons has become part of my intentional life. Doing so, helps us slow down and mindfully observe the changes around and within us. It gives us a time for quarterly reflection and encourages us to spend time noticing with curiosity and appreciation.
Ways to mark this transition:
Set an Intention
I choose to set an intention at the beginning of each season. This intention serves as a guide, highlighting what I want to focus on over the coming months and acting as an anchor that keeps me focused on what I can learn from this season.
When setting a seasonal intention, ask yourself:
What do I need from this season?
How can this season help me change and grow?
What do I notice about this season that parallels my life?
What can this season awaken within me?
Recognize that each season brings something different, and therefore each season provides the opportunity to ignite something new and unique within us.
Engage in Intentional Observation
I encourage you to step outside, or even just look out a window. Attend to your surroundings with all of your senses. Notice what sounds and smells this season brings. Acknowledge the temperature and light and how your body feels in response.
Then look at a plant, preferably a deciduous tree. Notice its bareness. Maybe it has held onto a few of its, no longer green, leaves, but most of them have probably been shed. This tree has let go of everything that drains it of energy, and with that the same thing that helps it capture energy. It has stripped itself of all its external decoration, and yet inside it is alive, saving energy and preparing itself for rapid growth in spring.
Nature provides us with many cues–we are part of it, not separate from it.
How does this observation relate to your own life?
What might you need to (or want to) shed this season?
What can you release so that the core of who you care can continue thriving?
In what ways can you slow down and conserve energy during this season of rest, on this hibernal solstice?
The Takeaway
Just as we are not meant to be the same person from year to year, we are meant to evolve seasonally. We are as much alive as each plant and animal that resides on this planet with us, and yet we often try to deny our own nature.
A tree doesn’t judge herself when she sheds her leaves because she understands that this is part of her lifecycle. This stage is just as necessary as any other–it is no better or worse, it just is. Nor does a bear try to fight his nature and stay active through the winter. He trusts his intuition when something within him says to slow down and rest.
This winter solstice, look within. Notice what your internal cues are telling you and heed them. If you need help, look without–allow nature to remind you that it is okay, and arguably necessary, to seek stillness.
