Winter; Healthy Home Habitats’ Wildlife Pond
The Oxford Languages Dictionary’s definition of solace is ‘comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness.’ Its definition of succor is ‘assistance and support in times of hardship and distress.’ I propose that right now is a wonderful time to take both solace and succor in the frozen, snow-covered garden, yards and woods surrounding us at home and in our region.
Nature is resting for a reason
Winter is when the natural world around us logically conserves energy due to fewer daylight hours and lower temperatures. Our bodies used to and still, innately respond to the winter season with more deep REM sleep than in summer. Taking advantage of this natural occurrence offers healing, regenerative and grounding rest to buffer us from the intensity of not only our gardening activities but our general crazy-time, intense thought processes, a nearly unavoidable reaction to the increased intensity of the world around us.
Our frontier mentality is not helpful.
Pioneers valued independence and self-reliance, and strove to make their own way. “Frontiers have the reputation for generating a `Frontier Mentality’. This is generally thought of in terms of the American frontier mythos. The sturdy pioneer is seen as independent, self-sufficient, and highly motivated to provide a better life for his family….” This drive remains and does not help us to relax and rest in winter.
Reading Can Make the Rest Time More Relaxing and Productive.
For example, I just had another surgery, my fourth in the last three years; my ‘repair and replacement’ period -ha! Each surgery required several months away from work. I chose winter as the best time to heal and rest, obviously to save the gardening season. But this strategy also allowed me to accomplish longer term projects, particularly those that require me to read and write. For m am indeed, making significant progress on my ever-evolving eBook: Choosing to Be Heroes; 5 Climate Actions From Our Yards & Gardens.
For you, it may be the stack of books next to your bed, on the dining room or living room side tables. As a website on brain health notes: “Most of us want to be well informed or entertained. Regular reading…(e)xercises the brain and increases intelligence, (s)parks imagination, leading to creative problem solving, (b)Builds perseverance allowing (us) to commit to long-term projects, (i)nspires creativity and broadens the mind to think on a deeper level, leading to innovative thinking, (b)roadens knowledge by gaining perspectives and insights on different cultures, lifestyles, relationships, etc.” These cognitive, non-electronic activities build our skills for attention, concentration, comprehension, reasoning, and making decisions.
So I, again, grandpoo-bah, grant you permission and grace to let yourself take solace and succor from this winter season. The rest we need is more physiologically possible during winter. We can shift our pioneer mentality to take advantage of the additional REM sleep’s psychological benefits to build a reserve of strength, resolve and resilience. We’re going to need all three, along with the respite of our gardens and woods, for the challenging times ahead.
RESOURCES:
Seasonality of Human Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/48ccudpn
Frontier Ethic: https://tinyurl.com/39y32mjp
Space as a frontier – the role of human motivation: https://tinyurl.com/u2hz4thw
Brain Health: https://tinyurl.com/29t6w2ds
As published on page three of the Dec 31 2024–Jan 07 2025 Monadnock Shopper News: https://shoppernews.com/shopper-news/dec-31-2024-jan-07-2025/