How to live seasonally when you work full time, live in a city and have no money.
On a recent instagram poll (hardly a robust scientific study but you catch my drift) 80% of the 60 people who voted didn’t know what living seasonally was. What is seasonal living or living seasonally? Wellness blog Yogi Approved says it “is the art of aligning with and embracing the cycles of nature, rather than resisting them.” Photographer Field and Nest sums it up as “taking advantage of the positives of each season and partake in activities that are best suited to that season.” While Eve & Keel sees seasonal living wonderfully as “a lifestyle that embraces change.“
Whatever the definition a whopping 94% of people on my Instagram wanted to live more in tune with the seasons.
With our busy, modern lives it is easy to forget that we live in a world full of seasonal change. Plants and animals have profound yearly cycles. Most trees shed their leaves each winter to conserve precious energy before growing back each spring. Birds migrate. Many animals hibernate. Famously, bears can go for 100 days without needing to wake up to eat to survive the hard winter months.
The 24/7 media cycle, bright city lights and forever-stocked supermarkets means we live in an “eternal summer.” Western culture values productivity making stillness and rest a rare treat or a guilty indulgence. With little respite from the daily hustle it’s no surprise that studies show the disconnect from nature’s seasons has a detrimental effect on our health and wellbeing.
The seasons - autumn, winter, spring and summer - helps to maintain vast ecological systems so it makes sense that if we tune into seasonal living then we ourselves will become more balanced.
Hibernating for the entire winter sounds utterly dreamy, but I don’t know about you, this mama bear has gotta pay the bills, so clocking out for an entire season isn’t possible. The big question is how can we live more in balance with the seasons while working 9-5 and living our busy lives in noisy cities?
Here are five things I have tried and believe help me align with the shifting energy of the seasons. It is a constant quest to live in tune with nature under a capitalist system so I make no illusions that this is simple or easy, or that the process is linear. Find a way that is best for you and remember, rest is a radical act.
Just looking at this photo makes me stressed.
Notice Nature
The simplicity of slowing down to notice the natural world around us makes this a wonderfully easy habit to introduce into your daily life.
We know a close connection with nature comes from tuning into nature. What does that actually mean? We tune into nature when we engage in simple activities – like listening to birdsong or enjoying the early spring blooms.
A study with the National Trust identified seven significant ‘noticing nature’ activities:
Listening to bird song
Smelling wild flowers
Taking a photos/drawing or painting pictures of nature
Taking time to notice butterflies and/or bees
Watching the sun rise
Watching clouds
Watching wildlife
What is revealing about these 7 activities is that is about moments—not about minutes.
Take a moment to notice nature from your window, on your drive to work, or while you walk your dog. Simple moments matter.
Ah, that’s better….
2. Adapt
I love Eve & Keel description of seasonal living as “a lifestyle that embraces change.“
There is an expectation to perform 100% all the time. Yet we don’t expect flowers to bloom constantly, so why do we expect that from ourselves?
Autumn and Winter with their short days and long nights is a time to slow down and rest. While Spring and Summer are a times of connection and activity.
I adapt how I look after myself with the seasons. The summers are full of long evening walks with the dog at the beach, while the winter is filled with sunrise woodland walks. I lose myself in boxsets on a winter evening but in the summer I barely watch TV. Adapting your self-care with the seasons gives what your body needs, rest.
3. Seasonal Intentions
With Covid throwing up everything in the air I need something to anchor me. The natural world kept on turning so I started using one word and a symbol of the natural world to guide me through each season. For example in 2020 it was:
Winter - theme is reflection:
Word: Surrender
Symbol: Fir Tree
Spring - theme rebirth
Word: Hope
Symbol: Birch Tree
Summer - theme abundance
Word: Connection
Symbol: Sunflowers
Autumn - theme transition
Word: Courage
Symbol: Oak Tree
Returning to my one word intention really helped keep me on track and whenever I saw the symbol out and about it was like the world was giving me a big thumbs up.
4. Read Seasonally
Reading seasonally is a new one for me, but Elisabeth owner of Logan Berry Books has a sublime Seasons Reading newsletter full of amazing book recommendations to encourage ‘embodied reading.’
This September I read The Bees by Laline Paull while a few bees buzzed around me enjoying the late rose blooms. It gave me an entirely new experience while reading. I will worry about the bees this winter and will make sure there are nectar rich plants ready for them this Spring!
5. Celebrate the Wheel of the Year
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals - which includes four solar festivals (Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox) and four seasonal festivals that mark a significant seasonal change.
Christian holidays such as, Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and May Day are rooted in this seasonal calendar.
I mark the festivals in my own small way and helps me to live with the seasons.
Image by Sombras Blancas
Of course, there are many others things you can do to live in tune with the seasons such as, eating seasonally, seasonal sports or movement, and decorating your home with the seasons. Enjoy exploring what is best for you as you strengthen your connection to the natural world.
I would love to hear how you live with the seasons, especially if you’re in an urban area so do leave a comment or message me on instagram.