PATHLIGHT: Winterlude – The Time Between
Annie Wenger-Nabigon MSW, RSW, Author of Pathlight on OntarioNewsNorth.com
Originally from the U.S., Annie now enjoys retired life at Pic River First Nation. Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW has been a clinical social worker since 1979 working in mental health, family therapy, and addictions services. She is a doctoral candidate at Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON. Annie also works part-time as a consultant for LYNX, owned by her husband Herb Nabigon, MSW. Herb provides traditional Anishnabek teachings and healing workshops for both Native and non-Native organizations. Together he and Annie provide training and education to professionals on a wide range of topics blending mainstream and traditional approaches in healing. They also provide cultural safety and anti-racism training. Do you have questions re: mental health, living a good life, relationships, etc. ?Annie would love to hear them and may even include your questions in a future column (published by-monthly exclusively on OntarioNewsNorth.com) Send your comments or questions to Annie via email to Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com
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An interlude is the period of time between two events. Like an interlude in a musical concert, it is a time where the main action is not happening – the music is at rest. A lot of people feel that winter is a bit like that – nothing much seems to be happening. People tend to stay in their homes and out of the cold. Bears and other animals are still snuggled in their dens and hiding places, most birds have migrated somewhere warmer where food is more plentiful, and many plants are dormant, waiting for the longer and warmer spring days.
When I first moved north of Lake Superior the snow was still on the ground and cold winds persuaded me to stay indoors most of the time. This year, however, I have a dog who is a descendant of a long line of vigorous sled dogs, and to keep all of us happy in the household, he really needs to go for long walks outdoors. So we have been bundling up every day this winter and heading out onto the snowy trails to get the required exercise. I have discovered I really love northern Ontario winter! I love the sound of near silence in among the spruce and pines, the beautiful snow and brisk wind, and the sight of the great Lake Superior, looking so formidable and entrancing as we view it from our vantage point high on the dunes. I’ve had a lot of fun learning how to identify tracks in the snow (and keeping my dog from chasing the creature who made those tracks!) There is a lot happening outdoors in this cold climate.
“Winterlude” is how I’ve come to think of it. This is the time between racking leaves and planting gardens, the time where tourists are not passing by our little community heading to Pukaskwa National Park, the time between long days and short nights. There is a lot happening, though, in “Winterlude”, if you take the time to look for it. People are out and about on ski-doos and skates, the blustery winds are sometimes whipping up great waves and creating blizzard conditions. It can be quite fierce out there, and sometimes I like to be out in it, and other times it is much more pleasant to sit inside and watch it snow. I love winter. Even the coldest day can be invigorating and exciting depending on your perspective.
Someone once said, “If you don’t like the picture you see, change the frame.” I have changed the framework of my view of winter and it has become a wonderful “Winterlude” for me, where the rest between the vigor of autumn and spring is exactly what I make it. I love those long, dark nights where the stars sparkle intensely, and the moon makes the snow drifts look like ripples of blue and white. There is a lot more time, it seems, to think and reflect, to meditate and create, and even to veg out in front of the television and watch good movies. I love the time I have to anticipate the arrival of spring, to get ready for garden and yard work, and for longer walks on a calmer beach without the treachery of ice underfoot.
This time of rest and anticipation is very instructive. I am reminded of the times in our lives when we can go for a long stretch of what seems like boredom, with nothing much happening, or maybe it even seems like a long, dark “night of the soul” when our hearts are heavy and our lives burdened with seemingly overwhelming things. There are times in everyone’s life when we have a heavy load of grief or responsibility to deal with, and we long for an interlude, a break, a time of rest from the burden we carry. It is important to remind ourselves, when things seem at their lowest or darkest point, that this, too, is just a time “in between”. This, too, is a “Winterlude”, and brighter and lighter days are just around the corner (even if that corner seems like a long way off.)
This year, spring is going to be very different for me than any other springtime in my life. I will be creating something I’ve never done before – growing a garden north of the 49th parallel. I don’t know a lot about that, but I have good neighbors to learn from and a wealth of information from many sources, so I’m eager to get started. I confess, as much as I‘ve loved my “Winterlude”, I’m ready for spring! The metaphor of “dark night of the soul” could be a bit like winter when we long for a break in the tedium of cold, or emptiness, or sadness. It is important to nurture our anticipation of how things might be better, easier, or lighter because that helps us cope with the heaviness of days that seem too full of “issues”, or problems for which there are no immediate solutions.
I’d be interested in hearing from my readers how you survived your “Winterlude” –was it a “dark night of the soul”, or an exciting, invigorating time of play and rest? Let me know what you are looking forward to, or how you “reframed” the way you picture your life, or what helped the short days and long dark nights of winter go by faster for you. Are you someone like my puppy who loves to be out playing in the snow? Or are you more like the bear that cherishes a long nap in the den? Is “Winterlude” a much appreciated rest, or a time to tolerate some hibernation? We have a few more weeks here to ponder what we’ve learned from “Winterlude” before spring is sprung on us!
Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW
Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com
ANNIE RECOMMENDS:
- The Hollow Tree by Herb Nabigon
- EldersTeachings.blogspot.com
- Pathlight: Journey to a Good Life archives
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*Health themed columns found on OntarioNewsNorth.com provide general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such.
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