My ‘wintersleep’ or hibernation

I haven’t been writing/blogging lately, I know. It was a conscious choice I made a few weeks ago. Just because I deserve my hibernation for a few weeks :). The climate here in Dalarna pushes me into hibernation. It’s cold, snowy and dark and this has an effect on my whole being. I know it’s called hibernation in English and not ‘wintersleep’ like in wrote in the title, but that’s just a wink to my first language Dutch/Flemish where we use that word.

It isn’t only the climate and season though, it’s a break after a long year of productivity, letting go of the old, learning the new. Jill Badonsky, author, wrote it more beautifully than I could ever write: “Those of us always producing, need a time where we surrender our own efforts and enjoy the magnificence created by others. It’s everywhere. Just waiting for us to float on it. Even for just a moment.”

She’s so right. In the past year I moved to another country, from a dense suburban area to a house tucked away in the woods, to a totally different climate. I learned a new language and helped my boys adapt to their new environment. I renovated rooms and assisted the new owners of my previous company with social media and teaching. I helped my husband renovate, launch and run his bakery, opened my own online shop, hosted workshops, wrote about 22 blog posts, and a lot of other things that would make this blog post just too long…  I’m a multipassionate person, so this umbrella is perfect for me, but only on one condition: a regular break. This time it took a bit too long without a break, but I guess that’s just the way it is when you immigrate. There are so many challenges in the beginning. My inside voice screamed ‘hello Goedele, can we pause for a little now, it has been enough.’

In such a pause I postpone some activities, prioritize mindfully and focus more on the value of the small circle around me, if you understand what I mean? Not a focus on the big outside world, on productivity or reaching goals but rather on the little things like having a chocolate milk in that new coffee place in town or just enjoying the scenery around our house in the dim grey-blue light of this season …

A focus on the little things such as decorating a window, …

Or painting a few things for my own home, making a Christmas wreath, …

And starting a new Instagram account, to share beautiful Scandinavian homes, just for fun.

Creativity ‘just because’ – harmony – balance is very high on the list now. I’m going back to slow, mindful and creative for a short while so I can tap into new energy and new ideas can ripen.

Tell me, what’s your choice for this holiday season? Is it also a hibernation and a journey inwards or totally not?