My Complicated Relationship with Winter
....Winter is not my favorite season. I am constantly cold, feel down due to gray days, and I miss green, growing things and the hot sun on my skin. Add in the pandemic, and the inability to safely do many things indoors, and it is a extra bad combination.
I was looking back over a newsletter from last winter and wrote about my hopes to embrace wintery sports and activities, which did not happen. Instead I relished my sauna time (something that this definitely not happening this year due to COVID!).
This winter, trying to maintain some social interaction safely and signing up for the #52hikechallenge (1 hike per week for the whole year), I am doing more outside than I ever thought!
I have tried cross-country skiing and snowshoeing after many years. I felt the fluidity and exhilaration of ice skating. I am not "good" at any of these things but wow they have done so much for mental health! I am getting out every weekend for a hike with friends (I invested in ice cleats for over my boots and they are a game changer!). I relish every time the sun comes out and try to take my dog for a walk (sometimes a quick one! It is currently 14 degrees while I write this) or at least sit in a sunny window.
Besides outdoor adventures I am exploring new soup recipes, finding every excuse to turn on the oven and roast or bake something, taking Zoom kundalini yoga, participating in a virtual Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course, and as always, making lots of tea!
And all this to say, I am not magically a winter lover. I still spend plenty of time huddled on my couch with terrible posture covered in blankets (this may be my current position :P) grumbling about shoveling snow. However this past year has taught me a lot about adaptation. I now am able to see the joy in being outside even in the cold. And believe me, once you've been moving for a bit you tend to get pretty warm!
I hope that you are finding ways to embrace the winter and that I can connect with you soon. Perhaps through one of the activities here, leave a comment here or on social media about your winter activities, or maybe we can arrange a winter walk!
Best
Caitlin