Slowing Down with the Season
Where I live, we are tumbling quickly towards winter. Frost-filled morning walks with my dog, bundled up with a hat and scarf roll swiftly into early nights, lounging on the couch next to the fireplace, under the white twinkly holiday lights that others claim are up “too soon.”
How could joy come too soon? I wonder. Why would anyone wait to feel peace and calm if they knew it was within their reach?
While it took effort and just under four hours to place all the snowmen and gnomes in their spots on the shelves and drape the lit garland over the windows and on the mantle and strategically place all the timers light strands around the room, now that it’s up, they serve as a signal to my brain that it’s time to slow down.
Over the last few years, I’ve really leaned into the real reason for the season, resting.
This is my time to shine, I’ve been saying with glee, as the days become shorter and darkness reigns. I shine through stopping, through slowing down, through doing less than I’ve ever done before.
Resting is certainly not a competition, but if it was, I’d be winning. Yes, that’s how my warped mind works! As a Capricorn stellium, with all of my first four astrological signs being the goat, learning it is productive to rest was all I needed to motivate me to sit still.
This time of year, I usually crush goals around reading and relaxing, sipping flavorful tea with two hands and savoring the slowness the season demands.
I want to spend lots of time in my favorite and most comfortable outfit: warm onesie pajamas, thick fuzzy socks, and cozy sleeping sweater.
I’ve got many nights of nothing ahead of me, and I am giddy about it. I’ll be going to bed early and sleeping in late as much as I can. I might even take up mid-day naps! Naps are something I’ve struggled with in the past but this winter, I think it’s time I expand my mind and give it a try.
Rest is what my body, mind, and spirit need to come full circle and rise stronger, like a Phoenix, come spring.
I’ve been reading more than writing lately, which aligns with my soul’s desire to slow down. Today, I read a beautiful post with gorgeous imagery around wintering and resting by Josea Tamira Crossley. It spoke to my heart and I hope it speaks to yours.
I recommend you read this while in bed, and then take a nice long nap.
Journal Prompts:
Try out these sentence stems by completing each sentence a few times to see what comes up for you. Resting is… I rest because… Relaxing to me means… Slowing down is… I let go by… Then write about what you notice in the patterns or range of responses.
Are you a person who naps? Why or why not? What judgments or preconceived ideas do you have about people who do or do not nap? Take a nap then write about how it felt in your mind and body.
Engage in a short meditation and then stop trying to “do something” and just rest your eyes for 10-20 minutes. If you end up falling asleep and taking a nap, even better. Don’t try this at bedtime, but right smack in the middle of the day or whenever you’ve got 30 minutes. Write about the experience of not trying to do anything but just rest your eyes and mind.
Here’s a 3 minute body scan before bed meditation I made to get you in the mood to relax the body and rest the mind.
Join me at the next Write to Heal Community Circles:
Sunday, November 23 from 8-830pm EST on Insight Timer
Tuesday, November 25 from 745-815pm EST on Zoom
These two will be the same topics, focusing on finding gratitude.
Check out my book for more curated journal prompts for healing.
Fragile Thoughts: A Healing Memoir is found anywhere books are sold. If audiobooks are your thing, you’re in luck! I spent a whole year reading my book to you, and it’s ready to be heard. Right now, it’s just $9.99 on Spotify!
I like that you treat rest not as absence, but as a form of presence. Taking a rest or slowing down is my weakness. The way you describe winter — the early dark, the quiet rituals, the glow of lights you refuse to apologize for — makes it feel less like retreat and more like returning to yourself.
I love the image of rest as something you “shine through.” That flipped a switch for me. So many of us treat slowing down as slipping behind. But you frame it as a season with its own radiance — a kind of interior weather we’re meant to inhabit, not fight against.
Your line about dropping into sleep like a stone into deep water… yeah. That’s been my year in a different register. And it reminded me that recovery, restoration, and creativity all move on a winter rhythm long before spring ever shows up.
So now I need to figure out how to respect my own fatigue the way you respect yours — as a signal, not a flaw.
Slowing down is the answer! What a beautiful moment! Keep on shinning and creating! The world needs it!!! Sharing mine here https://open.substack.com/pub/makepurethyheart/p/the-moment-is-here?r=1zorpg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false