Dormancy has blanketed our grove this month, where only sporadic bird calls can be heard; everything else remains silent. The new harvest has been pressed, the mills have quieted, and our farmers have finally returned home to rest after several months of dedicated labor. There is a profound sense of stillness wafting throughout the grove, almost as if nature itself is whispering, slow down.
Winter is a reminder of the importance of deep rest and how even nature takes her time to pause for a while. However, while this notion is pleasing, it is naive to ask the same of humans in our current culture. Our to-do lists are far too long: meals to cook, homes to tend to, children to care for, and bills to pay that seem to roll in like the ocean current.
When we think of rest, many of us imagine an empty inbox, a secret escape from society, or a week-long exotic getaway. But what if we told you that rest isn’t limited to those ideas? What if rest simply looked like a pause—taking ten minutes out of your day to sit outside, ground yourself with the earth, and tune into the stillness of nature? Take a moment to reflect on why you are here and to give yourself grace for all that you do.
While it can be difficult to do even just this, with practice, it becomes easier. And when you return to the worldly race, you’ll find yourself stronger and braver for investing in these small moments of self-care, for honoring the fact that you are human and not a machine, and for allowing yourself some dormancy like the winter trees.