Author: Katherine May
_Katherine May_
Reading time: 20 minutes
Synopsis
Überwintern (2021) praises the long, dark, and cold time of year. We usually fight against winter. We see it as an enemy and a problem. But winter is a very important part of nature’s cycle. Katherine May went through a difficult personal winter. During this time, she learned from plants and animals to see winter as an invitation. It is an invitation to pull back, rest, and get better. Winters are not a sad ending. Instead, they are a healing time to rest before a new part of life begins.
What you will learn: How to welcome winter and use it for rest, recovery, and a new direction.
Winter always comes. It follows autumn, just as summer always follows spring. In nature, this change signals a time to rest. Animals and plants hide from the cold and dark. They use their stored energy and save their strength. They recover from the hard work of the past year. They get ready for the challenges of a new cycle. But we humans seem to strongly resist this invitation. We want to keep going, push through, and be productive no matter what. This is true even when our bodies and minds cry out for rest.
In our feelings, “winter periods” also come. These are times in life that feel cold, empty, and sad. These are hard times when we deal with sickness, loss, or problems at work or at home. We all go through such personal winters now and then. But what if we could see these difficult times in a different way? What if we didn’t just “get through” them? What if we accepted them as a key time for recovery and a new start? This positive summary is about exactly that. It’s about matching our inner rhythm a little more with nature’s gentle pace. It helps us find strength. This strength will help us feel rested and strong for a new spring after winter.
Blink 1 – Winter is a Time for a Fresh Start
Katherine May was with friends on Folkestone beach in South England. This was one week before her 40th birthday. Suddenly, her husband felt a sharp pain in his lower stomach. The pain got worse during the day. That evening, he had to go to the hospital. His appendix burst before doctors could operate. May’s husband was in danger for a week. He needed several months to fully recover.
For the author, this was just the start of a long, difficult emotional period. She had just quit her secure university job. She wanted more time for herself and her creative goals. But soon after her husband’s appendix burst, she felt problems in her own body. After many tests, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. This long-term gut illness made her very tired, both physically and emotionally. It stopped all the projects she had just started. Freedom, creativity, and a carefree life were not possible for a while.
Even her six-year-old son was struggling. He felt too much pressure at school. Other children were bullying him. The family made the hard choice to take him out of school. They decided to teach him at home.
All these things – sickness, fear, and feeling overwhelmed – threw Katherine May completely off course. She felt tired, exhausted, and lost. This feeling made her do something she had avoided for a long time: to pause. She pulled back from her usual life. She allowed herself time and space to grieve. She watched and listened, to herself and to the world around her. In this quiet time, she remembered her interest in nature’s rhythms. During this dark and cold time in her life, she focused on winter. This is the season that makes everything and everyone slow down. Neither plants nor animals fight against what must happen. They adapt, rest, and gather strength. Then, when spring eventually returns, they come back with new energy.
May slowly understood: Maybe we humans should also change how we think about winter. We also need a time of year to retreat, recover, and reset ourselves.
Blink 2 – You Can Make Yourself Cozy for Winter
Winters in Finland start early and last a long time. The cold does not come slowly. It arrives suddenly and harshly for everyone. Maybe that’s why people there have a special word for how they prepare for the dark season: Talvitelat. As soon as it gets a little frosty, they start packing away summer clothes. They bring out warm sweaters and snow boots. They chop and stack wood. They get winter tires. They check if their house roofs can hold heavy snow. And yes, sometimes winter preparation starts in the middle of August.
Depending on where you are reading this, you might not need to get your winter boots out in mid-summer. But you can start creating small rituals in autumn. You can freeze bread and cakes as tasty supplies. You can collect candles for cozy times. You can decorate dark corners with warm fairy lights. Or you can preserve the last fresh fruits and vegetables of summer with your children or friends. All these actions are not just about practical storage. They are about mindfulness. They help you slowly take a slower pace in daily life. Kneading dough, untangling fairy lights, layering vegetables: These are calming activities. They help us notice the change of seasons more clearly.
Our modern daily life rarely has a changing rhythm. With work, always being available, and busy schedules, everything just keeps going. There is no break. There is no room for changes or for the seasons. That is why these small rituals can be an invitation. They help us slow down and switch our minds to a calmer state.
But preparing does not mean fighting off winter. The cold also has its own healing power. Maybe that’s why people in Finland often like to jump naked into the snow or an ice hole after a sauna. Yes, they prepare for the cold, but they do not fear it. This is the real meaning of Talvitelat: It’s not about escaping winter. It’s about going through it with enough warmth, peace, and inner strength.
Blink 3 – Listen to Your Need for More Rest and Thought
Animals react naturally when temperatures drop and days get shorter. They don’t see winter as a problem. They see it as a signal. Dormice wrap themselves in nests of moss and bark for months of deep sleep. Badgers and frogs don’t truly hibernate. But on very cold days, they become still for a time. Their heartbeats slow down. Their body temperature drops. They save energy until the cold eases. For animals, winter is not an enemy. It’s a message: “Rest. Slow down. Save your strength.”
We humans often do the opposite. We fight against the cold and dark with everything we have. We use thermal underwear, central heating, and artificial light. We use screens, alarms, and strict schedules. We try to just “work through” the winter months. It’s as if we can ignore the season. But this resistance is quite new.
According to historian A. Roger Ekirch, people in Europe slept in “two shifts” for centuries. This was before the Industrial Revolution. They went to bed early in the evening. They woke up naturally after a few hours. They used this time to think, pray, talk, or just sit and do nothing. Then they slept a second time until dawn. No one panicked if they woke up in the middle of the night. It was a normal part of life.
In 1996, researchers copied this sleep pattern in a special experiment. The people in the study spent 14 hours at night without artificial light. After just a few days, most woke up after a few hours. This was just like in pre-industrial times. To their surprise, they felt calm, balanced, and clear-headed during this awake period.
So, we deny ourselves the rest that our natural “winter sleep” rhythm could give us. We miss the time to slowly move from sleep to being awake. We miss time to sort our thoughts and let go of worries. Maybe we should see winter as an invitation. It is a chance to give ourselves more rest and time for thinking.
Blink 4 – Extreme Cold Can Build Your Willpower
Most people only enjoy snow when they are on holiday. Outside of holidays, snow can stop our daily lives completely. Roads become blocked. Trains are cancelled. Whole areas are cut off from the outside world. Today, we can control almost everything in life with a click. But snow is one of the last true forces of nature. It is a higher power that reminds us how little we can truly control. Maybe that’s why it’s so magical. It forces us to slow down. It makes us see the world in a different way. In these moments, even adults find their inner child again. They make snow angels, go sledding, or build crooked snowmen.
Cold water also has such magical powers. Most of us think of summer when we go swimming: warm lakes, salty skin, and sunny beaches. But then we avoid these beautiful places in the cold winter. Yet, ice bathing or cold-water swimming can be a great and rewarding experience. Those who dare to enter a lake, river, or ocean in winter experience more than just a test of courage. Swimming in ice-cold water can make your body and mind feel alive.
The body’s reactions are amazing. When you ice bathe, your body releases up to 25 percent more dopamine. This hormone is known to be linked to feelings like joy and motivation. Another study from 2000 showed that winter swimming clearly reduces stress and tiredness. It also lifts your mood.
People who ice bathe regularly confirm this. They say they feel incredibly alive, alert, and present in the cold water. The cold simply leaves no room for overthinking or worries. It forces you to be mindful. Every breath and every movement of your body becomes important. Winter bathing is almost like meditating. For many, it is a ritual that boosts their immune system and willpower. If you regularly challenge yourself and face the cold, you train your own resilience. Each time, you remember what you are capable of.
Mindfulness, playfulness, and willpower. Winter’s extreme cold doesn’t have to be an enemy. We can also see it as a chance. It can help us reconnect with our inner strength and other good qualities.
Blink 5 – Animals Show How to Stay Close in Winter
A famous story by the ancient Greek writer Aesop is about a lazy grasshopper and a hardworking ant. The grasshopper carelessly enjoys the summer. Meanwhile, the ant tirelessly collects grains for winter. When the inevitable cold comes, the grasshopper has nothing. And the ant sees no reason to help it.
Aesop’s message seems clear: Be like the ant. Plan ahead so you are not caught unprepared. This sounds quite harsh. But isn’t it also part of being human that we are sometimes like the grasshopper? We live in the moment, enjoy the time, and simply don’t manage to store supplies. Life does not always go to plan. Sometimes we just don’t have enough strength or resources to prepare.
But the fable also has a second, deeper meaning. Ants work not mostly for themselves, but for their community. Their hard work helps the whole colony survive. The same is true for honeybees. We mainly see them flying through gardens and on flowers in summer. But most of their time is spent getting ready for winter. They use enzymes in their stomachs to turn the nectar they collect into honey. This honey then serves as food for the beehive for months.
When temperatures drop, bees huddle closely together. Then, they start to make heat by moving their strong flight muscles. They even “unhook” their wings so they don’t fly away while doing this. This way, the inside of the hive stays a cozy 35 degrees Celsius, even in the very cold winter. If a “heater bee” in the middle gets tired, another one takes its place. Each bee does its part so that all can survive.
Biologist E. O. Wilson calls ants and bees “eusocial” creatures. This means they are species that join together to survive as a group. Wilson believes that humans are also a eusocial species at heart. We also need to work together, be close, and support each other. But often, politics, money worries, or selfish urges make us forget this.
Perhaps winter can be a reminder in this way too. It reminds us that in hard times, we don’t have to pull away and silently suffer alone. Instead, we can come closer together. It reminds us that we can share, listen, ask questions, and offer or accept help. Hard times don’t have to be sad and lonely. We can be like the bees and ants. We can prepare for the dark winter phase together, with warmth and a sense of community.
Blink 6 – Every Winter Is the Start of a New Cycle
Earlier, we heard about Katherine May’s personal winter. This included her husband’s illness, her own health problems, her struggles with career changes, and her son’s worries. All of this made her study nature. She learned how animals and plants deal with dark and cold times. Hopefully, by now we have shared her most important idea with you. It is that we humans can also learn how to “winter.”
Life happens in cycles. It grows, blooms, thrives, and ripens. Then it pulls back to start again. But we humans push each other to ignore this rhythm. Social media is full of overly positive messages. They say things like “get back up,” “keep going,” “just keep smiling,” and “stay strong.” We try too hard to find something positive in even the hardest experiences, as fast as possible. In other words: We act as if it’s summer all year long.
But nature shows us how important rest and retreat are. In farming, fields must rest after harvest. This is so the soil does not lose its ability to grow things. Trees drop their colorful leaves in autumn. This helps them get through the frost with less energy. We also don’t have to be happy, productive, and strong all year round. We are also allowed to lie fallow sometimes, slow down, and save our strength.
No matter how much we fight it, winter is a very natural part of life. It’s a key and renewing part of nature’s constant motion. Inside ourselves, we will also go through dark, cold periods again and again. This might not sound very uplifting if you are currently in one of these emotional winters. But there is also comfort in this: “Wintering” can be learned. With each winter we get through, we gain new skills. We notice earlier when things get dark and cold. We can take time for rest and recovery sooner. We can ask for help when needed. We can make things cozy and as simple as possible. We can drink more tea, walk slower, say “no” more often. We can allow ourselves to be tired without feeling bad.
And eventually, we realize that winter is not just about going without or losing things. It also brings some quiet gifts: clarity, honesty, and a closer connection to ourselves. Its darkness can hide what is not needed. It can help us focus on things we have put off or pushed away. It can lead to new questions, new strengths, and new ways of seeing things.
In the end, even the hardest winter is always preparing us for the next cycle. Because eventually, the ground thaws. Eventually, the light returns. Eventually, new things can grow within us and around us again. And we can trust that.
Conclusion
Yes, winter is harsh, dark, and uncomfortable. But we don’t have to treat it like a mean enemy. An enemy that secretly waits for us each year and throws us off balance when we’re not ready. We can start to see it again as an important part of nature’s cycle. It is an invitation to retreat, save our energy, and focus on what truly matters. With this mindset, we can even look forward to winter. We can look forward to cozy hours, reflection, and rest. We can look forward to self-reflection, a new direction, and getting ready for the next cycle.
Source: https://www.blinkist.com/https://www.blinkist.com/de/books/uberwintern-de