“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for talk beside the fire; it is the time for home.” -Edith Sitwell

We’re now in the depths of mid-winter. It’s cold, ugly, and still too dark for my taste. At this point in the year, I remind myself that just a few generations ago, my ancestors were living the agrarian life. What does that have to do with winter? Well, in an agricultural society, winter is when work slows down on the farm. The fields lie dormant, the livestock rests, and the family gathers together in the warmth of the home. It’s a time for rest and regeneration, something that modern suburban/urban American society seems to have forgotten.

I used to think that rest time should take place in the summer. I guess I can be forgiven for thinking this; after all, I’ve spent my entire life on a public school-based schedule. But the reason why school is recessed for the summer actually dates back to when winter was considered rest time on the farm. In the summer, farm work was at its height, and all hands were needed at home- not to rest, but to work. I still feel that way in the summer; I have much more free and flexible time, but I want to do something with it, to be busy with projects, goals and travel. I also feel energized in the spring and fall, by the desire to be outside and the deep connection to life unfolding outside my window.

In contrast, I often get frustrated with myself in the winter. In my head, I’m motivated to accomplish as much as I do in other seasons, but my body feels slow and stubborn. It wants to rest, repair and wait for spring, just as my agrarian ancestors did.

So this mid-winter, I’m going to embrace that feeling. I’m going to allow myself to relax more, sleep more, and spend more unstructured time with my family, knowing that when spring comes, I’m going to have three full seasons of feeling energized and motivated.

If this sounds like I’m planning to get lazy, I’m not. I’m still going to exercise, blog, take care of my home, and fulfill my roles as a full-time mother and aspiring writer. I’m just going to allow a little extra wiggle room for rest, sleep, hot baths, couch time with my husband, and reading. That’s something everyone can do, to whatever extent the schedule allows. I think you’ll find it feels more natural, closer to our ancestral habits, to sink into winter instead of trying to fight it.

I know this idea is a bit contrary to the things I often write about. I believe in continual self-improvement, in meeting goals, in never-ceasing ambition. But when I entered my thirties, I began to understand the need to not be pursuing every moment of every day. Life has seasons, just as the earth, and sometimes a day of pushing hard needs following with a day of letting go. Sometimes a week of forgoing the usual rules begets a week of pulsing productivity. And sometimes an entire season can be used to build strength and motivation for the coming three.

If winter comes, can spring be far behind? – Percy Shelley

(Some of you may be confused that it’s Friday and I’m not posting a book review. I posted about books earlier this week and I wanted to write something a little off the path today.)

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