Finally, the temperature has dropped into single figures (‘twas worrying me a bit with all this 17 degrees jazz in November!). We are very dependent on the weather to trigger seasonal vibes and connection, however the longer nights have been edging us into winter, as if waiting for the cooler temperatures to catch up. Over the past few years, I’ve been consciously trying to notice the nuances and embrace each season and its beauty. I used to rail against winter, cling to summer and feel very blue during the darker time of the year. This discontent peaked in the winter of 2020 and I felt so lonely, isolated, sad and couldn’t shake the feeling of unhappiness with my life. We were mid pandemic, I felt cooped up in the house with nothing to look forward to anymore, no social outlet, every day was the same as the one before. My days lacked structure and I forgot my purpose.

Thinking back, I often felt this way in Winter but in years gone by, I was always so busy - I pushed through. September to December is a busy time of the year for Yoga classes and January is crazy hectic, so with my head down working hard, I never sat still long enough to even notice how I was doing. For as long as I can remember, I’d collapse into the Christmas holidays, sick, sniffling and shattered. Spend the festive season trying to unwind and get well, cram in a trip away and then launch myself back into January at reluctant full speed, wishing I could just hibernate for a few more weeks. The pandemic gave me time to pause and notice how I really felt without the usual distractions.

Over Christmas that year in 2020, I decided there could be another way. A way that only I could choice for myself - one that means I view the seasons as a cycle, the transition to winter not as a descent but as a normal and natural phenomenon that I am a part of. I still love early Summer the most, I suspect I always will, with its long stretches of evening, warmer twilight nights and the promise of a long, hot (I’m ever hopeful!), sandy and salty months ahead. But now, I also make concerted efforts to embrace winter too. This thought process and the small adjustments I made to my mindset and patterns, gave rise to the creation of Seasonal Soul (my 12 month wellbeing programme for women and FYI – we are now accepting new members until the 30th Nov).

I dig out my warm woolly jumpers and long, thick cosy socks. My woven mittens with four layers of merino yarn are put to good use, and I drag on my snug 6mm hooded wetsuit and boots if I’m jumping in the sea. I love brightly coloured woolly hats and a little bit of me rejoices their pom-poms of red, pink and white bobbing about on top of my head.

My 3pm slump is a call for hot chocolate and evenings are spent curled up by the fire reading, writing or planning classes. I like how we are all a little bit less busy the deeper we flow into winter and that means more time for friends to catch up for homecooked meals in each other’s homes. More time for the people and things that matter most. Bracing walks in the cool, crisp evening air scattered with stars and foggy mornings heavy with dew and a slow pace. There are fewer social events than in summer, so I don’t feel obliged to attend as many jollies, my FOMO (fear of missing out) can take a winter nap!

I love the lead up to Christmas and the anticipation of a few weeks off to abandon routine, to spend time with loved ones and cocoon. Selection boxes for breakfast, mulled wine at lunch – what’s not to love!

But this has taken time and conscious choice for me, to choose to embrace winter and go with the flow. In the last few months, I’ve had a lot of change in my life – some wonderful and welcomed, some sad, painful and lonesome (a personal wintering of sorts). I spend a lot more time alone now and though this is by choice, it’s not been easy, and I accept that, I don’t rail against it. I’m learning to find solace in my own company again, to be at ease with myself once more. To trust in the future and the possibility it holds. Slowly, I am getting there.  I’ve had to learn to look forward to coming back to my quiet home on moonless, inky black nights after work, how to entertain myself when it’s dark early and the sun doesn’t manage to crest the trees until after 9am each day. Relearn how to comfort myself when I need a hug and there’s no one here to wrap up in.

I care for myself - I write a lot, seek solace in nature, I have great friends who listen and counsel, I ponder and reflect. I have a wealth of tools, supports and experience that I lean into (many of which I share in Seasonal Soul by the way). I’m doing the work and going through all this change, using tools that encourage me to go deep, to understand. I am holding space for this winter of mine. And I know it may sound superficial but alongside all the deep & meaningful, I’ve also found huge comfort in something frivilous, somewhat at odds with the rest really, but when I need to just check out mentally for a while, it’s given me great comfort during the darker nights - escapism in the form of a very easy to watch TV show called The Good Witch. Following a recommendation I read online, I signed up to Netflix just to watch it. This is rare for me, considering I no longer have a TV, such is the lack of focus I normally give these things. A magical journey inside the world of Middleton, a fictional town in the US where it’s always Autumn (I’m on season 3 and it’s still Halloween-y!). It has a magical witch called Cassie, a wholesome looking cast and nothing bad ever happens – the perfect place to tumble headfirst into, where the rolling credit vistas are awash with autumnal leaf displays of red, amber, orange and rust. It’ll never win an Oscar, it doesn’t provoke thought, the plot is soft, characters one-dimensional and I LOVE it! Cassie owns a shop full of crystals, quirky keepsakes, tinctures and teas for broken hearts. The town’s residents and visitors flock to her for conversation, kindness and healing. I’m in the queue too for a warm virtual hug on these winter eves. It’s kept me company, made me chuckle and cry, and gives me down-time from my busy brain.

I consider this light hearted viewing, not self care or development or support but just pure comfort and escapism. Like a soft, fleecy blanket wrapping itself around me, whisking me off to another world for respite in 40 minute episodes. And there is a place for that too alongside the soul searching and the healing passage of time.

And so I bid you goodnight, The Good Witch is beckoning me to vanish into Middleton for a while now.  

Thank you for reading. And if you’d like to understand more about seasonal living and how it can support you through all your seasons of life, please do get in touch, I’m here to help you too.

May you winter well.

Le grá,

Maeve x

PS. In preparation for a time when I’ve watched all the GW episodes (sob!) I thought I might gather up a few more equally easy viewing shows and share them with you too. I feel it’s going to be a quiet, cosy winter here, so I might as well snuggle in!

• The Gilmore Girls

• Anne with an E

• Virgin River

• When the Heart Calls

• Sweet Magnolias

• Girls

• This is Us

• Normal People

• The Chair

And if you’ve more title suggestions for me, pop them in the chat below!