While I was talking with my acupuncturist the other day, in the midst of this month of extremely cold temperatures, we settled into a discussion about winter. Winter is a time when you are supposed to take it easy. You are supposed to tuck yourself in a little earlier and eat warm soups and drink hot tea. Winter is a time for your body and soul to recharge and recoup. What are most of us doing on the contrary? We are hustling back to work after a few precious days off to get back to the task of multi-tasking. We actually get mad at the sun for setting early because we lose out on more productive time that we could have had fitting in one more thing.
Aren’t you exhausted?
There hasn’t been a winter I can remember when I felt energized and ready to tackle the world … but I’ve still trudged ahead. I’ve made New Year’s resolutions and goals for work and many, many plans for losing weight and looking great by springtime. But, have I ever tried focusing on rest? Have I ever thought, hmmm, maybe my body needs something else now?
This is the first winter I have actually listened and done something about it. I have actually been eating my soups and drinking my tea. I have been getting more sleep and planning less events. I have been curling up with a blanket and a book more often and have cooked almost every dinner this year. Ok, that last one doesn’t get a whole lot of credit because it’s been 20 days, but still, I’m cooking and eating really healthy meals. I actually feel like working out because I like the physical feeling of being tired at the end of the day. It’s very different from the tired of over-working and over-functioning. It’s a good-tired.
To my credit, my acupuncturist, April, commented that my “shen” was really good. I think that means my countenance, my face, had a glow. Let me be the first to admit that I am not working right now and maybe that is why I have this glow and all the time to do all these relaxing things. But, now I will be on a mission to keep this balance with work. The point of all this women’s lib was not for us to make ourselves sick and stressed with this newfound reward of working and voting and having a voice. In fact, the point was to have the choice and to be counted.
How often do we feel now that if we don’t perform, and usually over-perform, that we still don’t count?
In our 20s, we may want to climb mountains and be skiing every weekend in the winter, but I have to say, in my 30s, I think I get more out of curling up with a warm drink and a good book.