Wintering

"Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible." – Katherine May. How can we embrace life's harsh winters to prepare for a renewed spring?

1. Embrace Winter as Part of Life's Natural Rhythms

Life, much like nature, carries seasons of growth, rest, and regeneration. Winter, with its perceived bleakness, often brings adversity, whether in the form of illness, heartbreak, or loss. Katherine May's experience of her husband’s serious illness, her own diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, and the challenges of homeschooling her son illustrated how such personal winters disrupt life’s flow.

Yet by mirroring nature's approach to winter, May discovered that resisting these periods only prolongs the difficulty. Plants and animals slow down, conserve energy, and emerge renewed. Humans, too, must learn to rest during harder times. Instead of pushing through, we should allow space for reflection and healing.

Wintering is not about fixing what’s broken in life but embracing dormancy as a system reset. These dormant periods help us recalibrate for the cycles of growth to come.

Examples

• Retreating like hibernating dormice to embrace stillness.
• Stripping schedules back, as May did through homeschooling and recuperation.
• Observing natural cycles, such as trees shedding leaves for revitalized growth.

2. Recognize the Importance of Preparation

Winter doesn’t arrive unannounced; nature offers signs of its coming. In Finland, citizens engage in "talvitelat," winter preparations, months before the frost settles. They ensure they’re ready in practical and emotional ways, gathering resources like firewood and adjusting their habits for the season.

Humans benefit from anticipating personal winters as well. Preparing is not avoidance but readiness. Just as stacking firewood nurtures warmth through the cold, thoughtful actions—be it baking ahead, lighting candles, or organizing steady routines—can create comfort in challenging times.

The effort of preparation itself can offer quiet reflection. It slows us down, syncing life with the season's pace and offering meditation through action.

Examples

• Finns welcoming cold with saunas followed by icy swims.
• Stocking up on home comforts like candles to weather emotional storms.
• Kneading dough to create space for reflection during transitions.

3. Rest and Contemplate During Life’s Winters

Winter invites animals to rest—many hibernate, and others enter states of torpor. Dormice nap in nests, and badgers conserve energy in semi-sleep states. Humans, in contrast, fight these rhythms with artificial light, central heating, and unending work schedules.

May argues that winter should return us to simpler practices, like long, reflective sleeps. Before industrialization, humans slept in shifts, with a period between—known as "the watch"—set aside for quiet reflection. This slower rhythm aligns with not just physical needs but emotional and mental renewal.

A return to seasonal rest could be a profound way to untangle the threads of modern overwork, allowing space for dreaming, meditation, and emotional processing—the elements that often get bulldozed by constant activity.

Examples

• Participants in a 1996 study naturally waking for reflective "watches."
• Animals like frogs adjusting body rhythms to seasons.
• Replacing artificial lights and alarms to lean into longer nights.

4. Rituals Help Us Connect During Dark Times

Winter is globally marked by rituals, from Christmas to the winter solstice. These observances bring warmth and unity during the darkest times. Druids celebrate Alban Arthan, while Scandinavians honor St. Lucy’s Day. Rituals aren’t limited to religious contexts—they’re a human way to mark time, draw meaning, and foster community.

May suggests we create our rituals, even simple ones like shared meals or long winter walks. They ground us, offering moments of stability amid the chaos. Rituals create space to reflect on where we are and build solidarity during life’s trials.

Examples

• Celebrating St. Lucy’s Day with candles to signify light returning.
• Hosting winter potlucks with friends to cultivate connection.
• Naming personal milestones, such as accomplishing small goals, during winters.

5. Revisiting Wolves and Their Symbolism

Wolves have long been symbols of winter’s dangers, portrayed as cruel predators in literature. Yet their actual role in nature—dedicated family structures and pragmatism in survival—offers lessons on coping with scarcity.

Humans share traits with wolves, especially their tendency to overconsume. Instead of viewing wolves as villains, May invites us to reflect on our own hunger and resourcefulness, recognizing how survival often requires community and care.

Examples

• Wolves’ pack behavior as a model of resilience and loyalty.
• Imagery of the Wolf Moon during January, marking shared struggle.
• Parallels drawn between wolves’ survival instincts and humans’ need for balance.

6. Extreme Weather Can Unleash Our Better Selves

Snow blankets the world into stillness, forcing recalibration. What might seem like an inconvenience—closed roads, disrupted plans—becomes an opportunity to slow down. Snow also rekindles playfulness in both children and adults alike.

May found that even the sharp cold of a winter swim unlocks profound endurance and joy. Immersed in icy seas, swimmers forget past troubles and focus entirely on the moment. These experiences cultivate mindfulness while demonstrating our capacity for resilience.

Examples

• Dopamine surges observed in cold-water swimming studies.
• Adults finding childlike wonder in snowy landscapes.
• Icy swims on Folkestone beaches as moments of clarity and presence.

7. Community Is Essential in Hard Seasons

The fable of the ant and the grasshopper illustrates a black-and-white view of preparation. However, as May points out, human lives are defined by complex cycles. Sometimes we store away resources, like ants; other times, we face winters without such luck, like grasshoppers.

Taking cues from eusocial creatures, humans thrive when supporting one another. Ants work collaboratively for their colonies, and bees orchestrate hive-wide strategies to endure winter. Humanity could do well to focus more on shared resilience than individual survival.

Examples

• Honeybees’ synchronized heating systems in winter hives.
• Community alliances that distribute resources during hard times.
• Winter gatherings to combat isolation, modeled on beehive principles.

8. Wintering Is a Skill Worth Developing

Enduring harsh times is as much a learned skill as anything else. May highlights how repeated encounters with “winters”—illnesses, losses, and upheavals—taught her to read the signs of their arrival. With practice, she now anticipates the fallow periods of life and prepares to weather them.

Wintering includes self-kindness, silence, and acceptance. These strategies help us conserve vital energy so that we can emerge stronger. Just as plants bloom more brightly after their dormant seasons, humans rebuild after rest and reflection.

Examples

• Plants lying fallow to rejuvenate soil nutrients.
• May's personal growth through winter illnesses and career shifts.
• Slowing down instead of forcing progress during personal winters.

9. Joy Can Be Found Amidst Hardship

Winter isn’t just a challenge—it has beauty. Trees dusted with snow, bright berries on bare branches, or the gleaming fur of winter animals reveal unexpected joy. Embracing winter, both literal and personal, means noticing these moments of wonder.

Even in life’s hardest seasons, small joys are worth treasuring. A stray spark of beauty—a laugh during grief, warmth from a fire—reminds us that winter is a phase, and spring is always on the horizon.

Examples

• Spotting bright winter berries on countryside walks.
• Finding solace in noticing foxes or simple skies in winter hues.
• May’s renewed sense of connection during quiet winter days.

Takeaways

1. Create your own winter rituals: Celebrate and reflect through intentional gatherings or solo traditions like journaling.
2. Embrace seasonal rest by slowing down, reducing commitments, and practicing self-compassion.
3. Prepare for winters, literal or personal, by cultivating balance through small but meaningful actions like mindful routines.