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Date: 23rd January 2023
Podcast: The Slow Living Collective Podcast
Episode: 024: Is January the right time to set intentions?
In this episode Amy delves into the why’s and the hows of seasonal living through winter and why January might not be the best time to set intentions/goals/resolutions when it comes to the pressure of the new year.
Key topics & chapter markers
Living seasonally throughout the winter [3:02]
Living seasonally throughout the winter isn’t easy and the new year comes at a time when it doesn’t really make logical sense. It is not connect to anything relating to the solar or lunar, it just exists as a date with no real connections to anything. We come straight from the Christmas season, into new year and then we’re plunged back into normality in the deep, dark depths of winter. Is it any wonder why our new years resolutions/intentions don’t work.
So many of us have grown up in the “new year, new me” era and also in the era of creating resolutions in January and not being able to see them out. It was considered normal, but why?
Since I got into seasonal living and living more attuned to the seasons it has started to make more sense. Seasonal living is a strange one that people don’t always understand, but the irony is is that it is how our ancestors lived. It is almost like we have been pulled away from what is the most natural way of living for us. Seasonal living is inherently built into us and in winter it is natural for our bodies to want to slow down, seek rest, be more tired and for us to want to nourish our bodies with filling, warming foods.
Why resolutions don’t always work in winter [14:28]
So why don’t our resolutions always work in winter time? The timing makes no logical sense as nothing aligns with the date of the new year. Not to mention we are in the deepest, darkest winter. There was a survey conducted by Sundried which found that 43% of people expected to give up their goal by February and that a whopping 95% of resolutions made are related to fitness. January is a hard month, in the depths of winter and whether we embrace seasonal living or not our bodies are well aware that it is winter, and whether we give into it or not, they are seeking rest.
The promise of spring [21:00]
I did some research on where the notion of celebrating new year came from and who decided 1st of January was a good idea. What I found was so interesting, as until 1752, Great Britain (not including Scotland) and the empire used 25th March as the official start date of the year. I found this incredible as this is literally how I feel. Spring, it makes so much sense. It’s the time of new beginnings and not only that, it is close to the spring equinox too.
Whether we want to align with it or not, we were born to live by the seasons and ancestrally we have connectons to that. Our bodies keep the score and they know that we should live by the seasons, but because modern society has pushed us further away from how we were born to live we end up not understanding why we feel the way that we do about each season. Whether you are looking to change your way of living or not I really recommend doing some reading about living seasonally, I think it will make so much sense.
If you are looking for more ways to learn about living seasonally come and follow along with my seasonal living life on Instagram. You can find me @lifeonplot44. You can also follow this podcast @theslowlivingcollective.