Vicissitudes
Shine a Light on Winter
By Donna Henes
People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
— Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
It’s darn dark out there in winter. The days have shriveled to a skeleton flicker of light. The frozen nights are endless. These are dim, drab times. No flowers, no foliage. No insects, few birds. The earth itself is congealed with cold. Arctic gloom surrounds us.
Even though the days do get longer after the Winter Solstice — by approximately two minutes each day — the accrual is so gradual that we don’t notice it for quite a while. In the meantime, most of us grow quickly tired of the dark days, the long nights, and the chilled winds of winter that keep us indoors more than we might like.
Some of us are affected more than others and manifest boredom, depression, exhaustion, or burn-out. In some cases folks who suffer from Seasonal Affect Disorder display symptoms of extreme SADness.
When these winter-weary moods overtake us with gloom, we need to seek the radiance that we crave inside ourselves, and in that way we can experience the season in a more positive light. The challenge is to see every day, despite the weather, as a good day with its own special charms and offers of pleasure and gratification.
Here are some strategies we can employ to brighten our mood on even the darkest of days:
Lightening the Dark
Even the smallest change in our environments, whether at home or at work, can lighten and enliven our spirits. Moving things, even ever so slightly, can brighten your field of vision. Try rearranging your knickknacks or moving a piece of furniture from here to there. Put some colorful art on your walls, or some cheerful throw pillows on your sofa.
Raise the blinds, throw open the shutters and curtains and let the light shine in. Sit by a window like a cat. Bask in the warmth radiated by the sun during the hours when it does shine.
Bring flowers and tropical plants into your house or office. Their lush greenery and fragrant blossoms reminiscent of summer will surely perk you up.
Light candles on your dinner table, mantle or coffee table. Breathe in the flickering light and absorb it in your heart. Said Eleanor Roosevelt: “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”
Listen to lively music. Wear bright colors and sparkly jewelry. Winter white, red, and sunny yellow are the new black! Dye your hair. Paint your toenails even if no one will see them.
Eat colorful foods and decorate your table with cheery linens, china, and centerpieces. Cook with lots of spices. Warm yourself from the inside out with soups and stews spiked with cayenne and curry. Drink ginger tea and cider steeped in cinnamon. These are all blood warmers. And cayenne is an endorphin enhancer. It just makes you feel good.
Exercise to stimulate and bring warmth to your body. Try some new classes in Pilates, yoga, martial arts, or weight training. Put on some hot salsa and dance your butt off.
Go outside at some point in the early afternoon at the height of the sun, however bleak. This will reset your biological clock and counteract the effects of SAD.
Dress warmly and take walks in nature. New York City has fabulous parks in every borough. Appreciate the stark Winter landscape, the sculptural branch formations of the bare trees, the subtle, delicate shades of dried grasses, the moody hues of the clouds, the sparkling ice crystals that form on leaves, bark, and water. Breathe in all the glorious beauty that is unique to the season.
Take long, hot baths with fragrant scents, soothing music, and more candlelight. Dress your bed in cozy flannel sheets and down comforters, and spend more time there, resting, recharging, and regenerating.
Massage yourself with luxurious heated oils. Feel the warmth suffuse your body with relaxation and comfort. Massage someone else with warm hands and heart. Light the sex fires and share the body heat of desire.
Connect with sunny, cheerful, positive people. Whiners and complainers drain our energy and deplete our inner reserves, making us feel tired and depressed for no real reason of our own.
Do political or charitable volunteer work. Feeling of use charges our batteries, and sharing with the needy warms our hearts and give us an inner glow.
Donna Henes has been called “the unofficial commissioner of public spirit of New York City” by the New Yorker magazine. The author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife and three other books, she is the director of Mama Donna’s Tea Garden and Healing Haven, in Brooklyn. You can visit her at www.DonnaHenes.net .
