Lowering the Bar, Embracing Ease

I’ve been doubling down on rest and slowness this season, and I’m finding that as I lower the bar, I realize it needs to be lower and even lower. Winter is the time for rest, repair and centering ease. I’ve been feeling cozy, slow, and drawn to straightforward tasks like basic tidying and cooking simple meals. I started knitting again as a practice that invites stillness, and I put together a 1000 piece puzzle with my husband, enjoying conversation while becoming acquainted with the subtle differences between each detailed pattern. I’m trying to head to bed early to sustain myself through work and mothering. Each day, I’m handwriting a few tasks from my lengthy, digital to-do list on a 3x5 notepad and commending myself for whatever small number I finish.

Leaning into winter energy can be challenging amidst obstacles like too-high expectations, self-criticism, urgency or an impulse to control. In a world that so urgently calls for transformation, rest can feel like avoidance or shirking responsibility.

But I’ve been questioning that assumption and wondering:

What if I honored my tiredness as an essential act of self-preservation?

Is there a simpler, more sustainable way to approach this task?

How might rest ground me and help me move forward with clarity and focus?

How can I direct my energy wisely?

Questions like these have arisen in my work with couples and individuals engaged in family building and parenting. So many of us have big dreams and hopes, and we pile on pressure, activities, and hurry. In doing so, we sometimes lose sight of what’s available when we rest in the moment, reconnect with our needs, and focus on what matters most.

What do you really need?

What matters most to you this winter?

What might it look like to pursue it in an easier way?