Winter has not been much fun in Southern Ontario this year, but we doggedly head outdoors on a regular basis. We've tramped around the trails of provincial parks and conservation areas as well as several "off the beaten path" spots we enjoy. While we sigh at the gloom of the past couple of months (is it now against the law for the sun to shine?) we always feel better for getting outside. For both of us this is more than exercise or dealing with cabin fever. It is an important part of our spiritual practice and emotional health.
I'm waiting for the release in North America of a book recently published in Great Britain called The Wild Remedy. The author is Emma Mitchell who describes herself this way:
I’m an ex-biologist, naturalist, workshop-teacher, designer-maker, illustrator, mum, baker, gardener and keeper of guinea pigs. I share my nature diaries and the things I make on Instagram.
There is increasing scientific evidence that both crafting and contact with nature can boost mood and help to fend off depression by altering the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine in our brains. I’ve found that making during winter can help to fend off the grey feelings that can creep in at the very end and very beginning of the year and this led me to write my book, Making Winter.
I'll admit that I roll my eyes a bit as Brits describe Winter. Some of the folk I follow on Twitter, including Mitchell, are already speaking excitedly of signs of the first flowers of Spring -- pulleeze! Still Mitchell is on the right track in inviting us into creativity, observation, and gratitude in a time when SAD and a general malaise can set in.
We'll continue to spend time outside using the general principle that there is no " bad weather, just bad gear." We'll trust that the Creator brought all the seasons into being and that this is a "wild remedy".
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