What is it about this time of year. Why do we get the February blahs; or any blahs or downers at all for that matter. I believe our ancient forefathers and mothers from a different era would use the winter as a time of song, merriment, community, storytelling, recharging our batteries and perhaps mending our clothing or whatever needed to be done during the seasonal downtime. One of the problems with our modern society is we don’t take downtime at all. We are constantly busy and on the go, we are over worked, under paid and in debt up to our chins. We don’t know how to take a break from the stresses of our daily life, it builds up and hence “the blahs”. I believe in the past our ancestors lived their lives closer to to the seasonal changes and tried to be more in harmony with Mother Nature’s ups and downs, energy highs and lows. During winter (at least in Canada) all the energy has gone inside the Earth, waiting to be awakened by the shift that happens during spring.
Perhaps we should admit to ourselves (for our bodies and moods try to) that no matter how much we try to shelter ourselves from this fact we are indeed affected by the weather and the seasons. No matter how much we reassure ourselves by picking up our cellphones or iPads or logging into our Facebook cave; whether we like it or not Mother Earth reaches out to us and its usually in these subtle deep longings. Notice no matter how much we connect to these virtual worlds and shield ourselves from the world outside we don’t feel better. In fact sometimes we feel worse.
Mid-winter doldrums can make you feel down and can be a sign that we need community, creativity or nature. Even though the energies are very low at this time there is a subtle majesty about the land covered with freshly fallen snow and the hush of silence that seems to abide the magic of sparkling whiteness.
When I used to live in the Beaches area of Toronto, I would get in the doldrums in February or early March, I used to go for long walks along the boardwalk and look out at the slate grey plateau of Lake Ontario. By the time I got to the end of the walk or too cold to walk any further I would briskly walk to the closest coffee shop on Queen Street and read the paper. Grateful for all the other ruddy faced individuals coming in from the cold and taking a load off. Some how the lake seemed more mystical and special on those days. I would be all alone with the lake, no crowds and felt somehow the lake was mine.
I think its helpful in these stressful modern times to have a place in ourselves and outside of ourselves that inspires us, gives us solace or absorbs us so completely that we forget about our problems. I believe our early ancestors knew how to do this through community, creativity and by allowing nature to heal and restore them.
© Lorraine Hughes 2017
