The bleak winter months were never my favorite. Growing up at the beach, I relished the lingering days of summer, the warmth of the water, and being barefoot long into Fall. But as the years have passed, and my appreciation of the cycles of Nature has grown, I find myself eagerly awaiting the integral refuge winter offers.
Winter is when Nature rest.
The days are short and the nights long.
Nature replenishes and repairs, storing up for future growth and movement.
Winter is a time when Life gets quiet and goes inward.
There is nothing visibly growing, just a settled stillness on the surface.
Yet tucked away deep underground, seeds are busy gathering
strength and potency for what will come.
Winter is the season we are invited to move from Toil (bent over with worry) to Rest.
Winter is the season in which we close out each year or transition into a new decade.
It is the season when Nature beckons us to journey inward, which can feel like entering the dark night of the "soil." In Western culture, a new year brings hefty expectations of "doing better” this time around. And thus we busy ourselves at precisely the wrong time with motives far too small to get the job done. There is tremendous power in leaving the urgent to tend to the important, entering into the sacred space of the unknown, of inner reflection, of growing and developing what will come forth in spring.
It is here we take inventory of what has served us and what we are ready to release. It is here we can complete the old and make space to welcome the new. Regardless of our heart's soil condition, we can begin again, forgive again, and demonstrate compassion once more. We are invited to “re-ceive" (to hold once again) the indwelling Spirit or Life force. To “re-member” our DNA is divine. We are made of God-stuff! Embodying this truth is far more powerful than any affirmation, intention, goal, or resolution we could ever set.
Letting LIFE (Spirit) lead is not something we can DO; it is something we allow! Mary beautifully illustrated this way of being when she exclaimed, at the annunciation of the conception of Christ, "Let it be done unto me according to Your Word." She modeled for us the JOY of accepting ourselves as the temple of The Divine. Mary's womb, our womb, is the world's womb. In a season where space was made for Light and Life to be with us, we are reminded that God comes to impregnate each one of us with the impossible. Despite the dark dead space in our minds, Grace, Wisdom, and Miracles are ever-present, and always flowing. There is nothing for us to do, nothing to fight, fix, or enhance once we catch light of who we are and how Life works.
The key is the discovery of our true Self, that eternal part of us that remains untouched by the outer world and circumstances. It is our highest Self or Soul. However, what we call it is not essential; it is the tangible experience of the true Self that matters. It is ever-present and does not "go" anywhere. We just have not been conditioned to recognize it, and we have many other "selves" vying for our attention. These other-selves are born in the world of duality, of opposites that create a life of never-ending fluctuation between pleasure and pain, fulfillment, and frustration. Our true Self ushers us into another world, one of interconnectedness and Oneness. The real Self doesn't engage with the daily trade of "I, me, mine" or the story we fabricate around our lives. It is deliciously free from conditioning, habits, fears, and beliefs.
And the best news… our true Self is only ever a thought away. Try it: think about when you have felt free, peaceful, child-like, insightful, or intuitive. What you are experiencing and operating out of in these moments, is your true Self. One of Winter’s secret pleasures is the built-in time to peer within and encounter our true Self. Entering the unknown and the darkness is no longer scary when we realize that the only thing we ever surrender to is a higher version of ourselves.
Discovering our true Self is profoundly transformative. Once we glimpse our true Self, there is no turning back. We recognize we (false/other-selves) are not steering the ship. We are not "doing" Life, Life is being done unto us. God, the Universe really does have our back, and with a heavy sigh of relief, the weight of the world is lifted off our shoulders, and we fall headfirst passionately into the rest Winter affords.
May you align with the energy of this winter season to meet and begin the exploration of becoming your true Self.
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