Wintering

 

Wintering by Katherine May is according to Elizabeth Gilbert, “ A truly beautiful book.” And it really was beautifully written, but it was just a little too flowery for me. 

I’m not really a literature type of gal, and my favorite parts of the book had to do with hibernating dormice and the habits of bees. 

Wintering has to do with managing the hard times in life, and there definitely was a value to this book, but it’s not one I’d really recommend as a must read. 

May describes the season of winter as , “a season that invites me to rest well and feel restored, when I am allowed to retreat and be quietly separate.” She uses winter as a metaphor to those times in life when retreating is the best move to make. 

Allowing ourselves time to rest and recharge, is what is needed during this time of wintering. Animals know what to do instinctively, but to us this is not necessarily second nature. 

Our modern world of electrical lights, and regulated temperatures can keep us living the exact same life no matter the season. Taking a lesson from Mother Nature helps us regulate our own natural circadian rhythms. 

During hard times learning how to “winter” can be beneficial. 

How to Age Without Getting Old

 How to Age Without Getting Old by Joyce Myers should be required reading for anyone over sixty, but is a  valuable read no matter your age. 

Myers points out that all of us are going to age if we live long enough. She says, “Fearing, dreading, or refusing to admit that the aging process is happening doesn’t eliminate it.”

In fact, refusing to handle aging head on can actually make it more challenging. If we are not willing to make the changes needed as we age we can end up making our lives more difficult. 

Perhaps the best advice that Myers gives has to do with finding your new normal. She states, “…as we enter different stages of the aging process  we will often need to find a new normal.”

The way we view these changes will make all the difference. That, and allowing ourselves the time to adjust without being so hard on ourselves. 

“Our perspective has the power to help us either enjoy change or resent and resist it.”

Meyers also reminds us not to compare our normal to someone else’s normal. We have to be ready to change and grow when it becomes necessary. Not always an easy task, but an important one. 

Don’t make the mistake thinking that things won’t change, because they will. I have seen changes as I approach my seventh decade. Until reading this book I found myself being really hard on myself. 

Today, though, I’ve stopped criticizing myself, and have accepted that what I once did so effortlessly, no longer is. And you know what? That’s okay. 

I also know that as I continue to age there will be more adjustments. Meyers tells us, “Our value is not in what we do, but in who we are as individuals.”