01/15/2025
“Love is an action, a participatory emotion. Whether we are engaged in a process of self-love or of loving others, we must move beyond the realm of feeling to actualize love. This action is always informed by our capacity to be honest, open, and willing to engage with others in a way that is restorative and life-affirming.” bell hooks
Growing up, I swore I loved summer time as my favorite season with spring coming in a close second. It felt like all the good + fun things always happened in the summertime.
Now as I’ve gotten older + started to reflect more + live intentionally with the cycles of nature, I understand why I felt sadness, grief + self-diagnosed SAD in the winter time. Everything about the way society tells us or pushes us to function during the winter goes against what my body has told me.
I become a recluse from October- February, nesting + grounding in reflection, family time + the creativity of what I can do, should do + don’t want to do. Fall is like the prelude to winter + it always encourages deep reflection + reminds me of liberation.
Walking with grief, sitting in compassion also provides me the reminder of WHY I am doing all of this in the first place. Love. Love for myself, for others, for the future of my lineage, the collective as a whole.
My love for winter + fall has grown deeper as the love I have for myself. You can read more about it on my latest ritual in writing.
Oh + get your calendar together because I’m teaching a gentle yoga class called, Because of Love on Friday, February 7 at Yoloha Studio. Discount code is in my stories.
Image description: Image of the word love on a building wall in graffiti. The background is black with a variety of colors used in the word love.