Wintering
Nourishing the nervous system. Finding moments of stillness during the Advent and Christmas season
Wintering is not my word, it’s Kathrine May’s word.
She titled her popular 2020 book, Wintering: how I learned to flourish when life became frozen.
In this season of Advent — a season of waiting and longings — one of the many things I like to reread is the underlined parts I’ve marked up in Katherine’s book.
“Wintering is a season in the cold. It is a fallow period in life when you’re cut off from the world, feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider. Perhaps it results from an illness; perhaps from a life event such as bereavement or the birth of a child; perhaps it comes from humiliation or failure. Perhaps you’re in a period of transition, and have temporarily fallen between two worlds. However it arrives, wintering is usually involuntary, lonely and deeply painful.”
She is speaking in metaphor. Of course, we could find ourselves in a “winter season” any month of the year.
But Katherine goes on to say:
“Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt… winter is asking us to be more careful with our energies until spring.”
“Without the regular habit of quiet time, we will become spiritually malnourished and eventually starve.” Naomi Vacaro, author of Quiet
Sitting in quietude with sacred art
I received1this book as a gift last year during the Advent season. It has 13 chapters with 13 different pieces of sacred art. Each chapter gives a short background about the artist and the painting. There are thoughtful questions sprinkled throughout the book. The author brings fascinating stories and intricate details to light about each painting.
Art history was one of my favorite classes in college. I also love medieval history. So any practice that bridges our senses (which is the foundation of nervous system work) with the sacred and faith-based reminders from those in the early church, catches my attention.
Observing sacred art is one way to practice stillness and sit in quiet reflection during this season. Especially When/If You Don’t Have a Church You Want to Attend at Christmas.
Below is a painting by Nicolas Poussin called, The Adoration of the Shepards. Poussin was one of the most influential and greatest French artists of the seventeenth century. Educated by monks, he was very familiar with biblical stories. He painted this between 1633 and 1634. It is now in the National Gallery of London.
Take some time to look more closely at the painting. What are your eyes most drawn to? What do you notice?
Seeking Hygge experiences
“The meaning of the Danish term Hygge is now well known: it represents cosiness as a kind of mindful practice, a turning towards homely comfort to console us against the harshness of the world outside. I am currently burrowing into a Hygge life full of candles and tea, judicious quantities of cake, warm jumpers, chunky socks, plenty of time snuggling alone by a lit fire.” ~Katherine May, Wintering
I like to light candles and turn off most of the house lights in the evenings leading up to December 25 as well. I continue this practice into the first week of January. This calm, relaxing2Christmas holiday piano playlist has been on repeat in my home this month. I tend to knit more this time of year. And I’ve always liked Saint Hildegard’s3“joy cookies.” Hildegard was a 12th-century nun, healer and mystic.
Last Saturday night, however, I returned to more modern times and discovered The Brady Bunch season 1 (circa 1969) on Amazon Prime. As a child of the 70’s, this was one of my favorite shows. It was so fun to watch it again.
This random collection of sights, sounds, and tastes all feel Hygge-ish and cozy to me right now.
Writing down daily delights
Helen Marie is a trauma therapist I follow on Instagram. In the polyvagal (nervous system regulation) world, “delights” are called “glimmers.”
I endeavor to keep a log of one delight from each day. I’m not consistent with it, so by suggesting it to you, maybe I’ll take my own suggestion and actually follow through. But I’m serious when I say, my Daily Delight entry for Saturday, December 16, 2023 was watching two hours of Brady Bunch re-runs on Amazon Prime. lol.
Then this sweet little guy got a mention in my daily delight log last week as well. Witnessing his overflow of delight brought me enormous delight.
Replenishing
I like starting my winter mornings with4this nourishing 15 minute Qi Gong routine to relieve stress and anxiety and increase energy. And also I really love using5Mahanarayan massage oil as often as I can in the cold/dark months. It nourishes and balances every system in the body. (It’s especially soothing to the nervous system!)
Contemplating
Erin Jean Warde, author of Sober Spirituality, recommended this daily/weekly liturgical planner for 2024. I ordered it a couple weeks ago. I’m so excited for it to arrive. I can’t wait to begin using it. But, it’s back ordered. So, I’m trying to wait patiently - which ironically is one of the biggest spiritual lessons in Advent.
This is the Advent plan I’m reading and studying from December 1 to December 24 this year. I’ve also been following along with this Digital Advent Calendar for a second year. It focuses on Christmas hymns, art, and scripture. Then there’s this new devotional I’ve added this season to learn more about6Mary’s perspective.
Retreating
My third annual solo and silent beach retreat is booked for the first week of January. When the rest of the world is “hitting the ground running” after Christmas and New Year’s, I slow down even more and completely unplug the first week of the year. I’ll write more about that in January.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Thanks so much for being here and reading my Substack this year, I appreciate you very much. I’d love to hear in the comments how you’re slowing down and Wintering in your own unique and varied ways this season.
You are reading Healthy Discoveries by Jolene Park, a newsletter about life after Gray Area Drinking. Nourishing the nervous system. Unplugging from social media. Exploring a faith-based life. Sacred rhythms and rest. Navigating menopause, burnout, and trauma. Food as medicine and root cause medicine. I’m also on Instagram, and have a popular TED talk on Gray Area Drinking which has been viewed over 500,000 times. Comments and selected resource links are open to paid subscribers. I appreciate your support of my work by subscribing here.
For paid subscribers I’ve footnoted below:
—The book that gives the deeper stories and reflection about The Adoration of Shepherds painting and other sacred art.
—My favorite relaxing Christmas playlist.
—The medieval recipe for Hildegard of Bingen’s joy cookies.
—The Qi Gong routine to relieve stress and anxiety and build energy.
—Info about the Mahanarayan Oil that I love.
—Mary’s perspective during Advent.
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