Dear friends—

Gray, gray go away, come again some other day!  No really, I mean it…go away!

I don’t know about you, but the Michigan gray is getting to me this week.  It is cold, wet, dark, gloomy (and has been since last Wednesday!) and this is the time of year when I find myself starting to feel heavy and sluggish.  I fight becoming constantly overwhelmed by the desire to crawl into bed for three months.  I start to feel a bit caged and restless while being too tired to do anything about it.  Everything is harder this time of year which is unfortunate because this is a pretty important time of year in my life’s work.  😊

When I was working out this morning, I lamented the same thing to a friend at my studio and she had an interesting response.  She reminded me that we have 10 days until the days start to get longer, and that although winter will be around for a while, the earth is already making its way to spring.  It is certainly a different way to think about it.  I don’t suddenly feel infused with energy while acknowledging that, but it is a good reminder that we are never stuck in one place.  The earth is always rotating and bringing change to our circumstances, especially here in Michigan.

On the other hand, what if I am fighting against a natural cycle that we need to go through as humans?  Do bears fight the need to hibernate in the winter?  Maybe they do…I wouldn’t really know since I am not a zoologist…but maybe winter fatigue is something that we aren’t supposed to fight.  Maybe our American lust for productivity and the resulting resistence to rest is the problem.  Maybe I shouldn’t be fighting my tired brain.  Maybe I should be listening to it.  Maybe hunkering down isn’t a bad thing but is a healthy thing.  I “should” on myself quite a bit especially when I am tired or overwhelmed…can anyone relate?

If you are feeling low energy, you are not alone.  While we all have things we have to do and issues we care deeply about, try to be gentle with yourself, and I promise to try to remember that for myself.  Advent as a sacred season isn’t really supposed to be super busy or productive.  It is supposed to be a time of reflection and preparation.  Just like the last trimester of pregnancy where a pregnant person is overcome with both exhaustion and excitement…we anticipate what the Christ child will bring for us, but we don’t need to be productive to receive the sacred gifts of God breaking into human history in the form a tiny baby.

Just like we don’t need to be forced into false cheerfulness this season, we also don’t need to succumb to forced productivity.  Rest if you can…

Love to you all,
Deb