I was born in winter. Cold. Last year, I celebrated shivering in a parklet outside a new restaurant I was yearning to experience. We huddled with friends and blankets. The winter’s breeze anointed us, forcing a new aliveness within me.

We ate mindfully, traded stories, and acknowledged the community of our friendships.

Winter’s mystery brings up certain permissions for me:

• It’s okay to eat comfort food because it provides a shield of warmth.
• I welcome the rains, even take walks outside to let the drops soothe my skin.
• Write deeper, longer passages in my morning pages.
• Read more books.
• Dive into those dark parts that may need attention.

I welcome winter. It gives me a chance to recalibrate, starting with the last week of December. This is my “whatever week.”  Maybe work, maybe not; maybe see friends, or not.  Mostly retreat within, do some soul-searching, maybe some planning (but maybe not).

In all, my goal is to be present, to be in the space so my true north can surface, wherever, whenever.

How about you?