During these cold months, setting time aside for ourselves often feels more like a necessity than an act of indulgence. Winter begs us to still function normally amidst the season’s chaos, so we often forget to listen inward and remind ourselves that rest has an important place within productivity.
That tranquility looks different for everyone.
For some, it’s boiling a warm pot of soup on the stove, or settling down on the couch under a fuzzy blanket, sketchbook open. Sometimes it’s more of a ritual — rewatching The Thing (1982), and pretending, for even just a moment, that you’re as cool as Kurt Russell. It’s building a snowman with your friends, even if it’s seen as ‘childish.’ It’s reminding yourself to listen to your body’s urges, and appreciating the elemental.
To be present —
Winter has a way of burying what we think we know. The piles of snow obscure familiar shapes, challenging us to take a second look and remind ourselves of the things we pass by on a daily basis without even realizing.
In being obscured, the familiar adopts a new meaning of presence. What remains is a reminder that clarity doesn’t always come from seeing everything at once.
Sometimes, we find perspective when the parts we think are familiar are covered. It forces us to slow down, stop, and engage with what is before us, being reshaped.
To be present might mean standing outside long enough to feel the snow land on your nose, or pausing for a moment to admire the thickness of it, how it blankets everything the sun manages to touch. In these smaller moments, peace finds room to exist. Winter doesn’t only take, but much like any other season, it offers a sense of stillness, softness, and the permission to care for ourselves in simple, human ways.
The season is still decompressing; it’s okay if you are too.
No comments to display.