Welcoming Fallow Seasons

Winter approaches the northern hemisphere, and with it comes the challenge (at least for me!) of the fallow season ahead. There’s so much that can be embraced as the cold sets in: warm tea, comfy blankets, plush sweaters and socks. For those of us like myself, though, as nice as it is to envision these cozy times, it’s very, very tough, in reality, to embrace them.

If you haven’t heard the term ‘fallow season”, it’s been described as a time of rest and recovery, to pause and reflect. In many climates that means a cold season. In essence, it should be a lovely time of rest, in actuality– especially in places like America– the time can feel smothering, isolating, or just plain lazy. In the US, there’s always a feeling that if you aren’t working towards something, you have it wrong. As the daughter of an Irish immigrant family, this sense of must-do, has been instilled since childhood. Haven’t got what you need? The implication is you haven’t been working hard enough for it.

Over time and experience, I know this is not true, but knowing a truth and embracing that truth can be very different. I always feel there must be something I can be doing, that I should be doing.  What we’ve forgotten is that the globe doesn’t bloom year-round. Not every part of the world has winter, but there are rainy seasons, times when you rest after pushing hard through any kind of harvest.  I think I’ve found my own rhythms, often for years, but any new beginning means there’s a time of rest before bloom and growth.

What I’d like to focus on is the small ways we can train our brains to recognize how well we have been and are doing now, and that we deserve a break sometimes. Affirmations, meditation, or just looking around at sites, smells, and touching pleasing textures are simple and so helpful! A favorite vlogger of mine (Anna Prky), likes to remind everyone that rest isn’t something you have to earn, it’s something that’s needed, something inherent and necessary. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that rest is a part of how we function and we can’t function without it. Simple acts of slowing down can help us with this.

So breathe, tell yourself calm and rest is a part of you– just as breathing is and taking a break isn’t just something we want, it’s something we need. Just a deep breath in through our nose for about 3 seconds and out through our mouth for 5 seconds eases our body and brain.  For those who like some science backing your beliefs, if you breathe in and take a little longer breath out, over time your body with naturally relax. Physiologically, it has no choice, this is the body’s given response– so take the breathing time, slow down, and remind yourself you are doing something good! It may be simple, but it is powerful!