Complaining about the weather has always been a popular (and easy) topic and winter tends to get the worst of it. But I’m here to tell you why I love winter and how you can enjoy it too.
1. Practice Being in Sync with the Seasons
Being involved in farming, ranching, gardening and homesteading has brought me a new appreciation and understanding for the rhythm of the seasons and how, if we follow their lead, we are much happier in our lives. The frozen land doesn’t allow us to do much and after the work of bringing in the harvest in the fall we quite frankly don’t WANT to do much more. You don’t need to have a farm to practice this though, winter naturally makes us want to slow down, get more sleep and rest our bodies. Try not to plan too much and have quiet evenings. Luke is just starting up with reading to the kids next to the fire before bed again, something the kids have been anticipating with great excitement. Even from a young age they have noticed that “summer dad” flops onto the couch when he gets home late at night but “winter dad” has a twinkle in his eyes and likes wrestling, playing silly songs on the guitar, reading and long talks before bedtime. It gets dark at 5pm and not much can be done outside so winter forces him to get more rest.
2. Find Ways to Be Creative
Because nature isn’t creating much for us to appreciate except for snow, we need to find ways to express our creativity if we are to feel like we are still growing, learning and being productive. A bonus is it’s hard to have winter blues when you are working on a project or learning how to do something new. Writing, knitting, cooking (soups and stews are especially cozy), baking, practicing musical instruments, sewing, drawing, and woodworking are just a few of all the ways we can create things in the winter.
3. Bring Light Into Your Home
Finding a way to safely have fire in your home makes winter feel cozy. Our wood burning fireplace is one of my favorite things about winter but also adding candles and Christmas lights make the longer nights not feel so gloomy.
4. Become Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
One of the biggest complaints about winter is feeling cold. Dressing appropriately will obviously help with that but after being outside we often just feel cold no matter what we do. I am trying to practice being more ok with that and have found that always being comfortable in life can actually lead to a bit of numbness and boredom. We won’t find nearly the pleasure in a hot bath, a blazing fire, or a cup of hot tea if we never got cold in the first place. Just as a fan and icy drink are the most wonderful things in the world in August and a hearty, homemade meal is incredible when you have spent a few hours feeling hungry. Allow yourself to feel uncomfortable and you might just find you finally feel fully alive and can appreciate the blessings you have in a new way.