What a gorgeous essay. Time, darkness, light and snow. How I miss the snow! We haven’t had a blanket of snow here in nyc for years now. It makes the cold feel harsher, the winter light less blue and lovely.
This was beautiful. This is the first time in my life I see my seasonal depression as an old friend, rather than an enemy. My mind and body instinctively slow down with our Mother and I will no longer feel shame around doing what's natural.
"All the ways of reckoning time that were followed for generations before the last century have been relegated to history as quaint ideas of a less sophisticated, scarcity-driven time." So good.
thanks so much for reading--so glad you can find ways to let it be a friend rather than having to fight it all the time as the social world demands of us. 💜
I am not sure if I commented on the original post but I feel a similar sentiment of being haggled by the clocks and the calendars now that I want to discard all preoccupations as the winter keeps deepening.
The snow is beautiful and yet so elusive creation of nature- it withhold all the properties of water - pristine, soft and yet so powerful. Thank you Freya for bringing out the many aspects of snow and winter and contrasting the darkness of the season with the grey-blue light of a snowy day. It all feels so magical to a girl who lives far from your beautiful northern hemisphere. The winter must be a time to reminisce and heal, specially for the northerners and I can sense the same magic and allure in your winter meditations. ❄️🌨️⛄️
I remember feeling the same sense of magic when I read your words about your southern climes and the wonder of all that grows there. I love to share about this place--for so long I thought I didn't want to, or didn't need to, but I can't seem to ignore how much it impacts how and what I see--which is what our relationship to the lands we live on should be about, no? ❅🧚🏼
Absolutely! I imagine us to be an extension of our ecosystems, like any other being who live within it. We humans are no different, we each share a unique relationship with the ecosystem surrounding us. And that is why I love reading the way the landscape and its elements that move you. It tells me as much about you as it does about the place you live and have come to love so much.
Many years ago I wrote about a tree, one particular tree standing beyond my window sill and how in dire need I meditated at its roots and I still believe back then it saved my life. We wouldn’t be the same without the ecosystems and its agents that we along side, would we ?
I know right! A many years ago I heard this Ted talk by Suzanne Simard and since then I haven’t looked at trees the same. I consider these being as spiritual elders, long standing before we were here and will be long standing after we are gone.
GET UP you sleepy slackers, rise and shine, up and at em, you're burnin' daylight, make hay while the sun shines, early to bed early to rise, Eh Never mind!!! 😴😴😴
It looks so beautiful. I love that silence and stillness of snow. We very rarely get snow on the ground here in winter despite it being an alpine environment and having two ski fields close by. If we even get a sniff of a snowflake though, I run outside and do a rather ecstatic dance. ❄️
I am a summer time subscriber of yours. However, despite it not being the dark of winter, I am enforcing a mini hibernation and slow down just to catch my breath in a very busy time. It is so important to listen to our bodies and souls whatever the time of year.
Human hibernation probably corresponds inversely to available seasonal food sources. Peasants not allowed to cut firewood or hunt winter game which “belonged” to some baron or king, had different boundaries and limitations than unfettered hunter/gatherers in an area of abundant game and resources to cope with cold weather.
really beautiful, especially the concept of Lotska (which i had never heard of before!).
Yesterday it was rainy, cloudy, and dark by about 4:30pm here in NY. I had this list of things to do (errands, chores!), but by about 9pm i was like ‘maybe i’ll try to rest a little bit’. I ended sleeping for 11 hours. When i woke up this morning, i was so mad with myself for the productive hours i had lost. Reading this has helped me step back from that frustration. It’s winter, we’re supposed to rest! there is nothing wrong with following our bodies, and the rhythm of the natural world. So thank you for this, and for reminding us that we don’t have to follow the arbitrary hours and timetable measurements that the railroads gave us.
Isn't it amazing that the society we live in wants to ignore our bodies and the world around us to follow some productive hustle, while our bodies and the land and the light is telling us to slow down and quiet? I too have a hard time giving into the capacity for sleep/rest too long, but have been trying to just go with it whenever I can--so love that your body was like hey, let's enjoy the darkness and SLEEP! 💜
I can't remember if I commented about this on the original post, because I remember this one and how much I enjoyed it and talking together about looking up that Russian peasant hibernation practice (which my father tells me he's never heard of)! But a friend of mine was working on a First Nations museum exhibit once, in which the person making the exhibit had depicted all the winter activities as inside ones, more in the hygge style we're used to hearing from Scandinavia. But when she checked with the peoples the exhibit was about, they said it was all wrong, that winter was the time they did the most outdoor things, because the rivers were frozen and they could get to other villages on them. All of their winter activities were outside and extremely active.
It's always interesting how differently we all respond to different weathers and climates, isn't it?
I love that--and yes, actually there is far more ease of access in the cold months when things are frozen in Alaska--along with the benefits of food storage. The warmer months are harder and more complicated in that way on all levels--which is also why hunting regulations here are not based as much on the seasons and I know of Indigenous people who have been charged with poaching because they hunted in their accustomed way--when it was cold enough to store the meat and it wouldn't spoil!! 🤦🏻♀️ I wonder about the Russian hibernation...I could totally see that being a story told falsely.... there's this beautiful book called (I think) the Idea of North by Peter Davidson (based out of Scotland) and he talks about these mediterranean-centered ideas we have about the cold and dark--and how positive they actually are to the people who live in those climates. I always feel like the dark and cold is slowing, but love that people are around to have dinners with more regularly, more eager to do things in the daylight we do have. In the summer everyone flees to fieldwork or other work and the light is so unrelenting, I long for the fall and winter because of it. ;) ❅
I can't remember where we landed with the Russian hibernation. I think we couldn't find much on it. But it's interesting. Also about the hunting regulations -- that makes the most sense to do it when you can store the meat!
I feel like I've read that book, like years ago, but barely remember. I like that approach. I read a short essay last year by someone who'd moved to Scotland and was complaining about the dark and cold and it was so odd -- her move was entirely by choice and she wasn't from there, so why do it if it felt so miserable? I'd have the same response to living somewhere with heat and long, sunny days. That unrelenting light, like you say. Summer makes me grumpy!
But where my father grew up, far enough north to have midnight sun for some weeks in the summer, it didn't feel so oppressive. I'm not sure why. Maybe because there's water everywhere, or summers are so short, or that it doesn't feel so scorching in the middle of the day like it does here.
Hola , Magnífico Relato , Como Bien Dices , Si Vives En Un Lugar Donde En Otoño Ya Este Nevando , Te Das Cuenta , Que La Vida Transcurre A Una Velocidad Mucho Más Lenta , Este Año Lo Estoy Comprobado Por Primera Vez , Vengo De Una Gran Ciudad Costera , Donde El Ritmo De Vida En Estos Días Es Bastante Ajetreada , Sin Embargo Este Año Vivo En Los Picos De Europa , En 50 Kilómetros Alrededor De Mí Casa Sólo Viven Unas 12 Personas , La Tranquilidad Y La Soledad Son A Veces Abrumadoras Y Por Cierto He Visto Unos Cuantos Lobos Por Está Zona , Es Impresionante Verlos En Libertad. Un Saludo.
I’ve noticed the past couple years how much my body asks to sleep more this time of year. I’m not longer rested after the coveted 8 hours. I could sleep away 9 or 10 while on vacation and if my kids aren’t demanding my presence. Thanks for this exploration of hibernation and the beautiful connections between snow, hush, and secrets ❤️
I know--I feel the same each morning and on weekends still allow myself to sleep a bit more and give into it. So funny how noticeable it is, how our bodies are responding to the sun and the world around us in such a natural way and yet we still have been conditioned to fight it, to pretend we are not affected by the lands we live in.
What a gorgeous essay. Time, darkness, light and snow. How I miss the snow! We haven’t had a blanket of snow here in nyc for years now. It makes the cold feel harsher, the winter light less blue and lovely.
Thanks so much Lane--I'll try to send some snow your way--it does make such a difference, I've come to long for it when it turns cold each year... ❅
This was beautiful. This is the first time in my life I see my seasonal depression as an old friend, rather than an enemy. My mind and body instinctively slow down with our Mother and I will no longer feel shame around doing what's natural.
"All the ways of reckoning time that were followed for generations before the last century have been relegated to history as quaint ideas of a less sophisticated, scarcity-driven time." So good.
thanks so much for reading--so glad you can find ways to let it be a friend rather than having to fight it all the time as the social world demands of us. 💜
I lived in Talkeetna for a winter when I was 14. What the heck. Thanks mom....
😂
I am not sure if I commented on the original post but I feel a similar sentiment of being haggled by the clocks and the calendars now that I want to discard all preoccupations as the winter keeps deepening.
The snow is beautiful and yet so elusive creation of nature- it withhold all the properties of water - pristine, soft and yet so powerful. Thank you Freya for bringing out the many aspects of snow and winter and contrasting the darkness of the season with the grey-blue light of a snowy day. It all feels so magical to a girl who lives far from your beautiful northern hemisphere. The winter must be a time to reminisce and heal, specially for the northerners and I can sense the same magic and allure in your winter meditations. ❄️🌨️⛄️
I remember feeling the same sense of magic when I read your words about your southern climes and the wonder of all that grows there. I love to share about this place--for so long I thought I didn't want to, or didn't need to, but I can't seem to ignore how much it impacts how and what I see--which is what our relationship to the lands we live on should be about, no? ❅🧚🏼
Absolutely! I imagine us to be an extension of our ecosystems, like any other being who live within it. We humans are no different, we each share a unique relationship with the ecosystem surrounding us. And that is why I love reading the way the landscape and its elements that move you. It tells me as much about you as it does about the place you live and have come to love so much.
Many years ago I wrote about a tree, one particular tree standing beyond my window sill and how in dire need I meditated at its roots and I still believe back then it saved my life. We wouldn’t be the same without the ecosystems and its agents that we along side, would we ?
i love that story. i do honestly believe trees are magic, and have so much to tell us. 🌲
I know right! A many years ago I heard this Ted talk by Suzanne Simard and since then I haven’t looked at trees the same. I consider these being as spiritual elders, long standing before we were here and will be long standing after we are gone.
https://youtu.be/Un2yBgIAxYs?si=ryaAVxaVrqlUdIlq
GET UP you sleepy slackers, rise and shine, up and at em, you're burnin' daylight, make hay while the sun shines, early to bed early to rise, Eh Never mind!!! 😴😴😴
😂
It looks so beautiful. I love that silence and stillness of snow. We very rarely get snow on the ground here in winter despite it being an alpine environment and having two ski fields close by. If we even get a sniff of a snowflake though, I run outside and do a rather ecstatic dance. ❄️
I am a summer time subscriber of yours. However, despite it not being the dark of winter, I am enforcing a mini hibernation and slow down just to catch my breath in a very busy time. It is so important to listen to our bodies and souls whatever the time of year.
Beautiful writing. Thank you. Jo ☀️
Human hibernation probably corresponds inversely to available seasonal food sources. Peasants not allowed to cut firewood or hunt winter game which “belonged” to some baron or king, had different boundaries and limitations than unfettered hunter/gatherers in an area of abundant game and resources to cope with cold weather.
really beautiful, especially the concept of Lotska (which i had never heard of before!).
Yesterday it was rainy, cloudy, and dark by about 4:30pm here in NY. I had this list of things to do (errands, chores!), but by about 9pm i was like ‘maybe i’ll try to rest a little bit’. I ended sleeping for 11 hours. When i woke up this morning, i was so mad with myself for the productive hours i had lost. Reading this has helped me step back from that frustration. It’s winter, we’re supposed to rest! there is nothing wrong with following our bodies, and the rhythm of the natural world. So thank you for this, and for reminding us that we don’t have to follow the arbitrary hours and timetable measurements that the railroads gave us.
Isn't it amazing that the society we live in wants to ignore our bodies and the world around us to follow some productive hustle, while our bodies and the land and the light is telling us to slow down and quiet? I too have a hard time giving into the capacity for sleep/rest too long, but have been trying to just go with it whenever I can--so love that your body was like hey, let's enjoy the darkness and SLEEP! 💜
I can't remember if I commented about this on the original post, because I remember this one and how much I enjoyed it and talking together about looking up that Russian peasant hibernation practice (which my father tells me he's never heard of)! But a friend of mine was working on a First Nations museum exhibit once, in which the person making the exhibit had depicted all the winter activities as inside ones, more in the hygge style we're used to hearing from Scandinavia. But when she checked with the peoples the exhibit was about, they said it was all wrong, that winter was the time they did the most outdoor things, because the rivers were frozen and they could get to other villages on them. All of their winter activities were outside and extremely active.
It's always interesting how differently we all respond to different weathers and climates, isn't it?
I love that--and yes, actually there is far more ease of access in the cold months when things are frozen in Alaska--along with the benefits of food storage. The warmer months are harder and more complicated in that way on all levels--which is also why hunting regulations here are not based as much on the seasons and I know of Indigenous people who have been charged with poaching because they hunted in their accustomed way--when it was cold enough to store the meat and it wouldn't spoil!! 🤦🏻♀️ I wonder about the Russian hibernation...I could totally see that being a story told falsely.... there's this beautiful book called (I think) the Idea of North by Peter Davidson (based out of Scotland) and he talks about these mediterranean-centered ideas we have about the cold and dark--and how positive they actually are to the people who live in those climates. I always feel like the dark and cold is slowing, but love that people are around to have dinners with more regularly, more eager to do things in the daylight we do have. In the summer everyone flees to fieldwork or other work and the light is so unrelenting, I long for the fall and winter because of it. ;) ❅
I can't remember where we landed with the Russian hibernation. I think we couldn't find much on it. But it's interesting. Also about the hunting regulations -- that makes the most sense to do it when you can store the meat!
I feel like I've read that book, like years ago, but barely remember. I like that approach. I read a short essay last year by someone who'd moved to Scotland and was complaining about the dark and cold and it was so odd -- her move was entirely by choice and she wasn't from there, so why do it if it felt so miserable? I'd have the same response to living somewhere with heat and long, sunny days. That unrelenting light, like you say. Summer makes me grumpy!
But where my father grew up, far enough north to have midnight sun for some weeks in the summer, it didn't feel so oppressive. I'm not sure why. Maybe because there's water everywhere, or summers are so short, or that it doesn't feel so scorching in the middle of the day like it does here.
Hola , Magnífico Relato , Como Bien Dices , Si Vives En Un Lugar Donde En Otoño Ya Este Nevando , Te Das Cuenta , Que La Vida Transcurre A Una Velocidad Mucho Más Lenta , Este Año Lo Estoy Comprobado Por Primera Vez , Vengo De Una Gran Ciudad Costera , Donde El Ritmo De Vida En Estos Días Es Bastante Ajetreada , Sin Embargo Este Año Vivo En Los Picos De Europa , En 50 Kilómetros Alrededor De Mí Casa Sólo Viven Unas 12 Personas , La Tranquilidad Y La Soledad Son A Veces Abrumadoras Y Por Cierto He Visto Unos Cuantos Lobos Por Está Zona , Es Impresionante Verlos En Libertad. Un Saludo.
El lugar donde vives ahora suena tan intrigante: soledad y lobos ocasionales. ¡Maravilloso! ❅
I’ve noticed the past couple years how much my body asks to sleep more this time of year. I’m not longer rested after the coveted 8 hours. I could sleep away 9 or 10 while on vacation and if my kids aren’t demanding my presence. Thanks for this exploration of hibernation and the beautiful connections between snow, hush, and secrets ❤️
I know--I feel the same each morning and on weekends still allow myself to sleep a bit more and give into it. So funny how noticeable it is, how our bodies are responding to the sun and the world around us in such a natural way and yet we still have been conditioned to fight it, to pretend we are not affected by the lands we live in.