A Gentle Place

Winter is coming…but is that true for everyone? In our southern hemisphere, summertime is coming. The seasons are a little like emotions; we all feel the same emotions, just not at the same time.

So, what does winter feel like? Is there any one emotion that describes it? Can it be true that a thin sliver of sunlight on a fallen leaf in November can be warmer than the sun on a hot day in July? Perhaps a wet day is more welcome than a dry day when the pressure to go outside pesters us.  Is the hibernation of winter a welcome cozying up or is it a claustrophobic captivity?

The seasons mean different things to different people. We are not the same.

In winter, the days become shorter and the nights become longer. Autumn has happened. The clock has gone back. Are we in reverse? Or is this an invitation to slow down, tread softly and go gently?

Gentle.

Does gentle even belong to winter? Fresh fallen snow denotes gentle, yet the navigation of it denotes stress. When cold winds blow, we create warm hearths. When hard rains fall, we identify dry sanctuaries. When frosty mornings pierce bedroom windows, open curtains reveal winter’s wonder.

Is winter a contradiction then? Frequently, the roughest paths yield the brightest diamonds.

Winter bookends the year for some and summer bookends it for others. Does this make a world of difference, or is there any difference at all?

Sometimes, Tuesdays work out better than Fridays. Sometimes, holidays aren’t a holiday at all. And, sometimes, the most wonderful time of the year is not the most wonderful time of year.

Winter is our own personal experience, and summer is, too.  Our reality is not someone else’s. Our self-care is not someone else’s. And just because it’s winter, it doesn’t mean it can’t feel like summer.

Whether your winter has come, whether your summer has arrived, whether your spring has jumped the queue, or your autumn insists on sticking around to be the year’s last loveliest smile, let not the calendar decree the mood. Let’s not be dictated by time. We don’t need to fit into a season, we just need to find out where we belong in it, to be done in our own time and in our own way.

Winter is coming…let’s go gently into it, because, yes, gentle has a place in winter.