Welcome,
Welcome my friend,
Welcome to this meditation on winter's changes.
So let's begin by getting into a really comfortable position,
Arrange your body,
Let your eyes gently close.
Just take your time,
Let your breathing slow and deepen,
Like the world itself slowing as winter approaches.
Breathing and sinking in,
Letting yourself relax,
Relax and drop your attention deep inside,
Deep inside.
And from this place of quiet,
I'd like you to bring your awareness to this season of darkness and colder weather.
I'd like you to notice how you're different now than you were in the throes of summer's brightness,
The warmth.
And perhaps you wake in darkness and return home from work or school in the darkness.
Maybe your body is craving heavier foods,
Warm foods like soups and stews,
Longer sleep,
The weight of warm blankets.
This is the wisdom,
The wisdom of your body,
Aligning with the seasonal changes.
For you too are an animal of this earth and winter is calling you inward.
Take some nice,
Gentle breaths,
Feel how your energy shifts as the days grow shorter.
Maybe there's less of you available to the outer world,
And this is just right,
It's just right my friend.
And winter asks us to conserve,
To draw our resources back toward our center,
Just a sap retreating into its roots.
Maybe you notice resistance to this inward pull,
Maybe there's some guilt about doing less,
Being less productive.
Perhaps there's a feeling that you should maintain the active pace of summer.
What if you allow that resistance to soften?
Your resistance is welcome here,
All of you is welcome here.
I invite you to consider what winter strips away,
Social obligations grow harder to meet,
Maybe projects that felt urgent in autumn now seem more distant,
Or you're less patient in the cold and the dark,
And this too is a part of winter's teaching.
When the world is cold and perhaps a little harsh,
We have less to give and it's okay.
Winter shows us our limits,
Invites us to slow down,
Slowing down,
Helping us shape ourselves in a new way.
Maybe you notice what winter reveals when all the excess falls away.
In summertime,
We can hide behind busyness and being in constant bloom,
Constant activity,
Going here,
Going there.
Now winter's austerity points us to what remains when we're not performing or producing.
Who are you when you're not trying to do so much or perhaps impress anyone?
What is it that really matters and what is it that feels optional?
Winter is a season of truth-telling,
Truth-telling.
Now take a breath,
Bring your attention to winter's particular gifts,
Notice the quiet that descends when the world is muffled by snow and the way darkness invites us to turn toward warmth and light.
Maybe lighting candles,
Sitting by the fire or the wood stove,
Taking time to sit and connect with the people we love.
Winter teaches us to find preciousness in the little comforts,
A cup of hot tea,
Warming your hands,
The weight of a cozy warm sweater,
Or the feeling when you step into a heated room.
And feel how winter asks you to be gentler with yourself,
Resting,
Resting more.
Let yourself sleep,
My friend.
Your mind,
Your psyche craves stories and dreams,
Your spirit seeks hibernation.
So let it rest,
Let it rest,
Just like the bears in hibernation.
It's not laziness,
It's the important work of winter.
This important work,
This restoration,
Makes spring possible.
And I invite you to consider what is composting in you during this dark season.
Maybe old identities you've shed,
Relationships that ended,
Versions of yourself that no longer fit.
Winter is when these things break down in the darkness,
Becoming the rich,
Rich soil from which new growth will emerge.
Trust this process,
Trust,
Even when you can't see it working.
Breathe and acknowledge the truth of winter,
And that it's not going to last forever.
And while it's here,
Respect it,
Surrender.
Rather than fighting with it,
It's too much.
Moving with winter teaches you something essential about being alive,
About being alive.
And notice any small seeds that you're carrying,
Even now,
Seeds of hope,
Seeds of possibility,
Even during the deepest cold.
Because you know that the light will return,
Your energy will rise again.
Spring will come,
Spring will certainly come.
You've survived every winter of your life so far.
Trust,
Trust.
Take a few more deep breaths.
A few more deep breaths.
And thank your body for adapting to winter's demands.
Thank your spirit for its patience with the darkness.
Thank the season itself for teaching you that life is not about being in constant bloom.
Rest is sacred.
And sometimes the most profound growth happens when we go within,
When we go deep within.
So when you're ready,
Receive all that's been said and heard.
And allow your eyes to gently open,
Returning to the beauty of a winter's day.
Being open to the gifts of going inward and the growth that happens in the deep,
Dark silence.
And thank you,
Thank you for doing this practice with me.
