The Nature of Winter in Man
8 MINUTE READ
Winter can be tough depending on environment, circumstances, health, mental state, etc. There are several aspects of winter that may bring about struggles. Many people will experience hardship when facing situations of isolation, cabin fever, silence, decreased daylight hours, dreary surroundings, increased moments of inactivity, and more susceptibility to illnesses. Several people may also be dealing with different aspects of grief during this time of year and thus may experience it more intensely as a result of these added burdens.
Seeking help from qualified medical providers can be the first step towards renewal, depending on your situation. Beyond getting the professional support that may be needed, looking at the experience of the winter season from a different perspective could have the ability to offer at least some personal healing and release.
If we are in a position to better understand another person’s story, we can then better resonate and empathize with that person. The winter season has its own story to tell that can persuade people to be intentional, bringing about thoughtfulness and inspiration. This can then allow for a better understanding of one’s own story.
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Winter can seem very bleak, and the frozen stillness demands that nature slow her pace. Perhaps in recognition of this change we might consider reflecting and doing much the same. Too often we enforce our own deadlines, time limits, and to do lists with the gusto of a taskmaster. If we follow suit with nature this can be a time to advocate for our needs in different situations and with others, as well as to implement self-care habits. With a newfound clarity and vision, we can step out into the chilled air of winter’s heavily frosted terrain and see beyond what we previously looked past every day to the many blended colors that make up its sweeping gray.
Sinking into somber thoughts and emotions prevents us from spending valuable time pondering the glow of our authentic self. Nature is wise and we need only listen to appropriately nurture the richness and vitality that lives inside every one of us. If we consider ourselves a blank canvas and go further to recognize this canvas as a welcoming space of purity and light, through this perspective it can guide us towards freedom and open mindedness. The potential that exists in this is limitless and allow the colors we have inside of us to fight, push, and grow, overlapping and blending until they overflow.
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Growth of a kind reaches a pause in the midst of a willful frost. During this time, we must tend to our own hearth by igniting a spark from within. Continually stoking our own faithful embers, the flames of potential and self-discovery will grow. The darkness within can then be overtaken by warmth and illumination. As our inner flames build strength and take shape, the magic of transformation finds its place. The experience of this requires that we let courage grab hold and terror abate. Our hearth of heart will hold our flames at bay, so fear not that they will be led astray. Remember that our will and belief will control their fate.
It may be difficult to ignite our “spark”. We should begin by asking where our curiosity lies, and can it lead us to connect with something new inside? Then, we can embrace the gifts that the quiet of the season bestows. Acknowledge what we find and wonder about it for a time. Connection can be like a spark that the clashing of two cold stones made of earth can provide. Shiver by the fireplace on a cold winter’s night we may but hold fast to that steady inner flame. It cries out, “I am ready, and I beg of you, create!”.
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In wintertime, there are no distractions or embellishments in the way. There is depth to be found when we listen carefully to a symphony that evokes vibrancy of sound. There is a resonance in the utter silence after that final note at the end, so audible that peaceful silence, a symphony’s close and wintertime enjoy a common thread. The world around no longer beset by crowds of activity and life abound allows us to listen to the unsaid. The seclusion is a perfect opportunity to better hear the clarity of voice in a sound.
The wind whips and whistles, howls and moans, grunts and groans, whispers, and sighs, all as it glides. In the distance, ice cracks over water as it speaks. The hard and unwelcoming terrain beneath our feet absorbs sound as each step we take pounds as we step nimbly along a snow crusted ground. The melody of trees falls in between with a harmony of creaks, snaps, bangs, and pops that never seem to stop. This ballot may go on for quite some time with the conversation and music that nature provides. The harshness of winter is hard to quell, but its unique and amplified sounds evoke beauty as well.
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The chill of winter will not be ignored, but neither should the pure air it births henceforth. So clean, crisp, and fresh the winter air is untainted in its purest sense. Release the negative held fast inside. Cleanse your body, soul, and mind with the cold as your guide. Take heed of this lesson in a span of time when brutality and cruelness of the elements reside. So dense and thick, drenched in oxygen and plain to see, the frigid winter air is vital. Mother nature shows us our own breath of life, even in the stillness of the bitter cold. Focus on it with intent, feel it go in, see it come out, and a sense of peace and wholeness will unfold. Like a chrysalis gaining its strength and lying in wait for its opportunity to be bold.
The deliberateness we impose in the building of an inner strength allows us to then better manage the tireless slaps from life that may come our way as we put one foot in front of the other each day. It gifts us the ability to better handle the sharp agony of impact from rejection one minute and the strong force from judgement the next. All akin to the trauma of seemingly never-ending frigid gales, be it from life or nature it never fails. Icy winds can score deep wounds in flesh, as the struggles of life may cause us to deeply resent. Acceptance is necessary to embrace the path ahead. We have to be ready and willing to lose the battle in order to regroup and uncover the best ways to then return and win the war. As we weather the trials we will undoubtedly learn to endure.
The hard times of winter and life will always come back around, never thwarted, or forced to ground. It is to their lessons that we are bound and with each new path there are always opportunities abound.
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Simple exercises centered around the benefits of winter’s wisdom in relation to the human experience:
1) In the inactivity that surrounds start contemplating and reflecting on yourself and the vibrancy within that you could and should be nurturing. Consider your passions and aspirations. Consider your talents and offerings. Consider your treatment of others. Consider your faults so as to learn and grow. Consider self-care. Consider all the realizations and possibilities within, both perfect and imperfect as seen by you.
2) In the quiet and the stillness perhaps listen with a keener ear to what others may have to say. Listen better to what you yourself are saying as well. Pay closer attention and do less talking and you may learn more from that than anything else. Hear your intuition. Acknowledge your inner voice. Come upon the gifts found from exploring heightened senses.
3) Utilizing breathing techniques is always an important routine to consider for a person’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Whatever breathing exercises work well for you, and you might research this a little, embrace them even more so in the winter season for their restorative qualities. Consider experiencing what effects they may have on you by performing them outside in the cold air BUT before you do this be sure to speak to your doctor first to make sure this option is appropriate for you based on your physical health and individual needs.
These building blocks are very important aspects in developing a solid foundation of self to cling to in the harsher times of life. Developing an internal state of balance and depth of understanding are means by which we can be even more productive members of society, as well as further support and encourage our need for a sense of calm within, of which we are all deserving.
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What metaphors of winter might you bring in to play in the day to day of your own life? Be creative with what resonates with you.
Could even the smallest shifts in your perspectives make a difference in the harder times you may face?
Are you in a place where it is worth it for you to try reflecting on these offered points of view in your own ways as you continue to brave the winter and the winters to come?
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I always try to be that much more mindful of Flow, a subject of positive psychology, during the wintertime as it is easier for me to become more complacent during this season. Flow is a state of mind where a person becomes one with whatever they are doing through complete immersion. This practice offers many benefits in regard to mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. There are several articles available online that discuss Flow in more detail if you are interested in knowing more and gaining more knowledge on the subject.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was a Hungarian-American psychologist. He recognized and named the psychological concept of "flow" being a focused mental state conducive to productivity. As a start, listen to his Ted Talk entitled Flow, the Secret to Happiness.
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