In the solitude of winter, the soul finds it’s truest voice

Greetings on this first day of 2025!

We have entered a new Gregorian calendar year with the flip of a page and the strike of midnight. This time of year brings forth the energy of new possibilities the eagerness to begin again and the resolve to do more and to do better. 

Yet in the Wheel of the Year, we are wintering - like the natural world, we are cocooning in the sacred solitude and stillness for rest and renewal. As beings closely linked to seasonal cycles, it is the time of fallow not of forward momentum, a time of being not of doing, a time for dreaming and not full action.

The days, although gradually lengthening with the return of the light since the Winter Solstice, are still short and the nights dark and long. Instead of charging full steam ahead with resolutions and goals, we can give ourselves permission to surrender into the beauty of nesting and resting for our re-emerging and re-awakening come Spring. 

I have the great blessing of just returning from my own version of sacred stillness and rest spending a week at Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Paradise Island, Bahamas surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. I ended 2024 where I started it, among like minded souls and in the healing waters of the Great Mother. For the first time in a long time I truly perfected the art of doing nothing or as the Italians like to call it “Dolce Far Niente.” 

There is something glorious about not having an agenda or a to do list to check off. Not creating distractions to pass the time or chasing the next thing. I walked the beach to welcome the sunrise, spent hours floating peacefully in the salt water staring at the distant horizon and sky, talked to my animal friends that crossed my path like hummingbird, dragonfly and crab friend. I held deep, meaningful space with others sharing how our paths brought us to our temporary home among the palm trees … I was completely engaged in the luxury of being present. 

So as we enter 2025, I invite you to join me in this new found joy of surrendering to the flow, to savouring every moment like a decadent dessert, to filling your internal cup with moments of awe and connection. Take this time of “wintering” to dream, to set intentions, to rest, to regenerate, to connect with the wisdom of being still. 

Blessings to you!