HUMANS 101
Embracing Our ‘Wintering’
The natural rhythm and human right of rest
Around the time of the winter solstice, I was listening to the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett. Her guest for the episode was Katherine May, author of Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, The Electricity of Every Living Thing, and Burning Out.
I was coming off a few stressful months of juggling the demands of in-person and virtual work at USC as both an adjunct instructor at the Annenberg Specialized Journalism program and running the twice-monthly speaker series for the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities as the organization’s associate director. I was exhausted — and my tinnitus was giving me a fit. Having filed grades and settled year-end administrative details in the office, the hamster-wheel run didn’t stop in my personal life. The days ramping up to Christmas had me on a constant go.
Even as I was go-go-going, I was questioning myself: Why all this hustle? I’d taken enough mindful courses, and written my share of wellness stories, to know that this season wasn’t the time for hyper-speed action. It was time to slow down; take more opportunities for ease. Rainstorms in Los Angeles (yes, it does rain in Southern California) made it clear that winter was here, and that settling down for “a long…
