Since we’re deep in winter now, I’ve been thinking about wintering and cocooning and how they relate to flourishing.
I’m thinking of metaphorical winter more than the actual season. We all have times in our lives that feel like we’re going through a deep, hard winter.
Wintering means to last through the winter, to survive and maybe even thrive, in the midst of a cold, dark time.
Everyone goes through various winters in our lifetimes. We don’t choose to go into a winter. Instead, the season comes upon us.
“Everyone has a worst time in their life. There’s always a worse time. We are all either in a crisis, coming to one or coming out of one.” – Andy Andrews
Winters often come during or after a crisis, whether that be a severe burnout, illness, broken relationship, grief etc.
Of course, since this is a metaphor, you’re the only one who can decide whether you’re in a winter or not. The point is no matter what we name this season of our life, we need to find ways to get through.
And there are ways to get through without languishing. It is possible for us to come through a wintering time and be stronger and better for it.
Cocooning is a bit different than wintering.
Cocooning is a choice we can make to withdraw from the world a bit and create a supportive, comforting protection around ourselves.
Cocooning isn’t a season. It’s a shorter period of time – an afternoon, a weekend, a week or two possibly – where we intentionally create space for ourselves to heal, rest and be nourished.
Cocooning can be an important part of successful wintering, but we may also need to cocoon during better seasons, due to illness, burnout, a stressful event etc.
Flourishing While Wintering
It is possible to flourish, even during a winter, but it will look different than when we flourish in better, kinder seasons.
The Tree in Winter
This is the time of hidden regeneration. Mist hangs above the ground. Frost forms on open fields.
The tree is still. It stands alone and quiet. In the darkness of the early morning, nature is asleep. There is no movement in the air, no hint of trembling in the branches. The tree silent in the darkness like a stone — a pillar in the courtyard of an empty temple.
A distant sound breaks through the stillness. The day’s first light advances on the earth. The shadow of the tree moves with the dawn, but the tree is motionless.
The ground beneath the tree is frozen hard. Above the ground, the bark is cold, the limbs are stiff. A passer-by might wonder if the tree will live in spring.
But underneath the ground the earth is warm. The weight of all the tree sinks to its roots. They are indifferent to the frozen soil, they grow toward the centre of the earth.
The tree is not afraid. It was a seed: it knows the earth is holding it. Within its core, a vital ring is being formed.
Around its spine, new life is rising from the earth, while flakes of snow are settling on the silent and unmoving tree.
Lam Kam Chuen
Flourishing in winter isn’t flashy or colorful. It may not be visible at all, but the winters of our lives provide us a chance to learn lessons, grow stronger, practice being steady and calm in ourselves.
Ways to winter and cocoon for health and well being:
A lot of the things we’ve covered here with Flourish 52 are ways we can successfully winter.
Learning to deal with negative emotions and negative thought spirals.
Learning to find our calm center.
Back to the basics of health – good food, rest and sleep, movement and exercise as we’re able, time in nature.
This is a good time to build in habits that will promote those basics.
Cocooning activities often pull us closer in toward home. Things like napping, reading, taking a long bath, baking, light cleaning and tidying, puzzles or games, daydreaming, movie watching.
These are activities that feel nourishing to us. They support the back-to-basics habits of successful wintering, but can be a quick help to us whenever we need a boost.
If you’re in a wintering season, remember that it’s okay to feel quiet and to not see a lot of activity and growth.
Trust that as you nourish yourself with good habits and cocooning your roots are growing strong and deep.
New life and new vitality will come in season.
Since we’re talking of wintering, I thought I’d share this video of a heavy snow in a small Japanese town. It’s beautiful and very cozy feeling.