📕Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

Good morning, everyone!

This week, we’re focusing on Wintering by Katherine May.

This book explores the quiet seasons of life—the periods when energy dips, plans stall, and the world feels heavy. May encourages readers to treat these seasons with patience rather than shame. She reminds us that slowing down is not failure but a natural rhythm. Let’s dive in.

Wintering helps you see low seasons with less resistance. Instead of pushing through exhaustion or forcing productivity, you learn to listen to your body and mind. May shows that rest can be healing, and retreat can be the start of renewal. Many readers finish the book feeling more patient with themselves.

Principle #1: Every life contains winters.

May explains that emotional winters are as natural as the physical ones. Illness, grief, burnout, or uncertainty are part of being human. Recognizing this removes the pressure to be “on” all the time.

Principle #2: Rest is a form of preparation.

Wintering isn’t passive withdrawal—it’s restoration. When you give yourself space to slow down, you gather energy for future steps. Rest becomes a foundation rather than a timeout.

Principle #3: Routines help anchor you.

Simple daily rituals—walking, brewing tea, reading—offer calm when life feels unstable. These small anchors keep you steady while the bigger pieces shift.

Principle #4: Being gentle with yourself is productive.

May challenges the belief that worth is tied to output. She suggests that self-kindness creates clarity and resilience, especially during difficult periods.

Principle #5: Wintering can be shared.

You aren’t alone in feeling low. May’s stories show how connection, conversations, and community help lighten emotional weight.

1. “Wintering is a season in the cold. It is a fallow period in life when we must rest and repair.”

2. “We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall.”

3. “We are not machines. We are nature.”

1. Build a gentle morning ritual. Pick one slow habit—stretching, stepping outside, or quiet reading—and repeat it daily for one week.

2. Name your season. Write down one challenge you’re facing. Accepting it helps reduce internal pressure.

3. Clear one small task. Tackle something simple—a drawer, a corner, a calendar block. Even small order can create mental ease.

Pick one night this week to turn off screens early. Light a candle, read, journal, or rest. Give your mind space to settle.

Across cultures, winter has long been associated with rest, reflection, and gathering strength. Scandinavian traditions embrace slow warmth through candles and simple comforts. In many East Asian traditions, winter is a season for inward focus and gentle routines. May draws on this broader idea: slowing down is not laziness but a universal human rhythm. Many cultures already honor it—we are simply relearning how.

We hope this week’s reflection encourages you to treat your low seasons with patience. Wintering isn’t a setback—it’s a form of care that makes the next chapter possible.

As always, if you have any feedback or questions, just hit reply.

A Book a Week Team

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