I’ve been hinting at this with my content for a while, as I’ve started to steer our conversations in this direction, and today is the day that I am going to stop being coy and spell out exactly what I have been studying, practicing, and consuming myself with over the past year or two:
The concept of seasonal living. What is it?
Well if you Google “what is seasonal living” you’ll find this definition from yogiapproved.com: “To live seasonally is to consciously surrender to the inevitable changes within and around us on a moment-by-moment basis. Seasonal living is about allowing for those different periods without being attached to any one of them and trusting that there will be a return of all phases in due course.”
And while, yes, that is a pretty comprehensive description of seasonal living, it’s a little too yogi and woo-woo for me, so I will give you my cliff notes, elevator pitch, and quick description so you can see it from my eyes:
Seasonal living to me is the ability and desire to lean in and embrace each season as it comes, making the absolute most of it while it’s here, being grateful for the season we’re in, and being excited for the ones to come. It’s basically a way to take all the best parts of minimalism, slow living, and hygge (or the lifestyle of chasing coziness) and implement small, simple aspects in the life you already have so you can find more peace, contentment, and joy in it.
These tiny little changes have been so effortless and gradual that I never felt like I was taking on some new concept that I couldn’t handle because it was so in alignment with my goals- and I don’t mean goals for things I wanted to accomplish, but rather goals for ways that I wanted to feel. Just to name a few of those goals I’ve been able to meet (aka the benefits I’ve experienced)
I’m less stressed out, I have way more mental clarity and headspace, I can regularly re-evaluate the clutter in my life and clear it away- both physically and mentally, I can more clearly distinguish and allocate “quality time” with my husband and the kids rather than the constant fog of being in the same room together without actually enjoying each other’s company.
For the record, we still do this, because what even is a family if you don’t zone out in the same room and chill separately but together? The difference now is that I am designating times- even 5 or 10 minutes- throughout our day when I give my totally undivided attention to my family. That could look like playing Barbies with the girls and setting a timer for 10 minutes (the girls know I absolutely hate playing Barbies so the timer helps me focus on them and not how much time has passed) or having one of our deep chats with my husband Joe in the dim light of the kitchen after we’ve put the girls to bed, a glass of wine in hand and no phones in sight.
I want to take a second and emphasize these little pockets of time that I’ve started carving out of my day. I was in the vicious cycle of chores, work, dinner, and bed for years. Once the girls were old enough to play on their own more I let things get away from me and I was just going through the motions of the things I was supposed to do and never really LIVING my life. Everyone was always fed, snuggled, kissed, hugged, cared for when they were sick, clothed in clean and well-fitting clothing and our house was decently tidy most days- but I completely lost myself in it. And every night when I’d go to bed mom guilt would eat me alive.
“I never even played with the girls today” “I never even asked Joe how his day was” “I don’t even know what any of them like to do when I’m ‘busy’ during the day”
I took for granted those precious years of the girls being old enough to hang out with me and too young for school. I figured “well, we’re together all day of course we are spending enough time together” but were we? That’s a personal question, and answers may vary, but for me- it wasn’t good enough.
Another vicious cycle I found myself stuck in and constantly riddled with guilt over is constantly feeling dissatisfied with my life and myself during the cold months. There are only so many things you can do in the winter when you live in a snowy and frigid climate, and rather than embracing the luxury of that, I would guilt trip myself and feel like a failure for “being lazy” or “not accomplishing anything productive” even when there was nothing that needed to be done. I would finish a movie or binge a series and feel horrible like I hadn’t contributed anything for the day- and this is after I had cleaned the house, washed the dishes, started a load of laundry, fed the girls and the dogs, and so forth- not that I even needed to “earn” a chance to relax, but that was the toxic ideals swirling through my head at the time.
The bottom line is, I had just completely lost who I even was and what I even liked or wanted, in the pursuit of trying to “hurry” and “accomplish” my way through life. As if a clean house is the measure of the type of wife or mother you are. For the record, it isn’t, and when you look at life from that perspective of scarcity (like you’ll never measure up UNLESS you “Xyz”) you’ll never find peace, contentment or joy.
The opposite of that scarcity would be an abundance mindset, and in this case, it would sound a little something like this: wow. I have so much to be grateful for. I have this roof over our heads and it’s so much easier to relax in this space when it’s tidy, my kids even get to have their own room with toys they love, and I am being a great mom when I teach them the importance of cleaning up after themselves. We have dressers full of clothing and I have the privilege of making them smell so good every time I do the laundry- and who doesn’t love putting on a sweatshirt that smells like it just came out of the dryer, or climbing into a bed with fresh sheets? For me, that is one of the purest forms of luxury. I have a fridge with food in it that I can turn into something tasty that will give my family nourishment and energy- even if that nourishment comes in the form of Dinosaur nuggets- or as the girls and I call them, chickie nuggies- and mac n cheese. I have SO much. And when you feel so grateful for what you have, you take so much more pride in it.
Seasonal living is the quickest and easiest way to find simplicity in the life you’ve already created for yourself. It’s the best way to fully love and appreciate that life. It’s also the rawest, longest-standing way of life since the seasons were made before we even were. Think about it: we know the opening verse in the Bible, “in the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth”. Then in the third verse, God said “let there be light” and he created night and day. In verse 14 He created luminaries, or the stars, and said “they will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years” then in verse 16 he created the sun and moon- which we know have a great deal of responsibility when it comes to our seasons. Man isn’t introduced until way down in the 26th verse. This means that those seasons and patterns were all he would ever know.
Now that’s the biblical approach, and for me, that is the most compelling and inspiring, but if you’re more of a black-and-white textbook thinker: science backs up this theory that our bodies are meant to transition seasonally.
First of all, let’s all agree that the amount of effort we put in 24/7 is not meant to be put in 24/7. We are supposed to take breaks and rest, and when we don’t our work suffers, our mental health suffers, our relationships suffer, and so forth. This is a big reason that seasonal living is so beneficial. If you break the seasons down, each one is *generally speaking* meant to be enjoyed a certain way.
Fall is for preparing. Historically speaking and from a nature perspective, fall is when we prepare our lives for the winter. That used to mean canning and preserving foods, winding down your gardens, gathering and stocking up on firewood, and for many today that still does mean that. For animals, it means stockpiling their food for the winter months, or feasting and preparing to hibernate. In a more modern way, that means that businesses are gearing up for the holiday shopping months. Families are preparing for those long weekends together, tying up loose ends at work so they can take time off during the holidays, and schools are often preparing for all of the testing and end-of-marking-period tasks like parent-teacher conferences and checkpoint assessments. This all makes sense because according to new research from Sunnybrook Health Science Center and the University of Toronto, Autumn is when our brains are working their best, leading to higher productivity compared to cooler months when we may tend to feel sluggish. Our distractions are more limited with summer activities being a thing of the past, and winter excitement hasn’t quite arrived.
That means winter is for resting. While we don’t hibernate as humans, the shorter windows of daylight can attribute to us feeling sleepier, or at the very least more in search of comfort and rest. Winter is a great time to implement hygge practices in your life, or better yet- the Scottish concept of Coorie which includes leisurely outdoor time followed by warm and cozy indoor fun. Winter is often when people pick up new hobbies or get back into reading. Winter is scientifically proven to be the best time to learn new things- which is perfect because we have a lot more time to challenge our brains to tinker away at a new skill or interest while we are resting our bodies- according to the Maryland Primary Care Physicians official website: “ There’s evidence suggesting our brains work better at cooler temperatures. One study found that the temperature of 62 degrees is the best for schoolchildren to learn, and other researchers found that people study better when the weather is cold.”
This means that once the resting is done, Spring is for refreshing. It’s time to start getting outside again and digging in the dirt. It’s a time when people are looking to eat healthier and start working on their landscaping when they start seeing the green new growth popping up everywhere. It’s a time when we are finding our way back to productivity but are prioritizing health and well-being. We’re cleaning out our houses and getting the fresh air back inside after months of being cooped up. We’re clearing away the clutter and making space for simplicity and creativity again. We’re feeling more social again, which means that we are keeping our spaces tidier so we can start inviting friends over. Our insulin sensitivity is higher in the spring which means our cells are absorbing more sugar from our blood to use for energy or storage, and that can encourage fat loss and promote natural detoxing in our bodies. This basically means while you’re spring cleaning your house, your body is working hard to do the same as the temperatures rise.
Lastly, the summer is meant for play. Of course, there is a time and place for everything, and we can’t just stop working because it’s beautiful outside and the kids don’t have school. What we can do is prioritize play. Just a few of the scientific reasons that summer is for play are: the days are longers so we have a lot more time to do things during the day. Even if you don’t get out of work until 5, it’s dark until 9 in the summer so you can fit those evening walks, sunset games of touch football, and backyard playtime in. On top of that, the warm weather and sunshine boost our serotonin levels in our brains, which energizes us and makes us more upbeat so we have the ability to do those things and the desire- whereas during the winter a lot of our energy and “get-up-and-go” attitude is simmering on low to put it in food terms. Also, most of us have a pretty large decrease in screen time during the summer because we’re spending more of the daylight hours outside and off our phones, which means the majority of the light our brains are processing is natural rather than artificial which frees up brain space allowing us to be calmer, be able to relax, not feel like we’re in such a rush, and make room for creativity and fun. It kind of reminds me of the stereotypical surfer dude character in movies- he is constantly absorbing the warm sunshine and never seems to be in a hurry to get anywhere. He’s laid back sometimes to a fault and seems to feel very little if no stress at all. That is similar to what summer does for our minds and bodies.
*Quick side note too about the psychology behind summer bodies- we’re drinking more water, eating fresher, whole foods- and smaller portions usually- then add in a summer tan and that’s what gives our bodies that summer glow, a tan usually creates a more slimming effect. The healthier habits may even help us shed a few pounds. So we just look better in the summer, and when we look good we FEEL good.
So that was a pretty quick breakdown of how our habits and lifestyle can and arguably should change throughout the year as the seasons shift. In another episode I will get even more technical about what I like to call the “in betweasons” aka the months of March, May, September, and November. Those seasons that are kind of half one season and half another- March is still a little bit winter, but progressing to spring, then May is that transition of spring to summer, September is summer to fall, and November fall to winter- these seasons can be tricky to embrace, what with the weather constantly shifting and everyone around us either clinging to the season prior, or jumping to the next one. There’s also this weird societal idea that we’re not allowed to “rush” seasons, or get too excited too soon about them, which is just silly- if it makes you happy BE EXCITED ABOUT IT!
Well, that is all I have for you today, if you enjoyed my little take on seasonal living and how simple it is to implement in your own life, be sure to share this episode to your Instagram story and tag me in it so I can hang out and chat with you a little more! I would also love it if you shared this episode with a friend who would find it helpful and valuable and lastly if you left me a review so more people like you can find the show. That’s it for me, and until next time, enjoy this season and all the eats it has to offer.