It kinda blows my doors off to realise it’s early October. Already. And again. I just had a who-o-o-o-ole lotta images of early Octobers zip through my head like bits of ticker tape in a parade. The ones when I was a little kid and meant no more living in a bathing suit and running through the sprinkler on hot prairie days. Or being an older kid and already being back in school, breaking in that new binder and a new pack of pencil crayons with that delightful shaved wood smell that still lingers after sharpening all of them just a few weeks earlier.

Or being the mum and diving into that busy back-to-school routine. Making sure everyone had winter coats and boots, warmer clothes as we were heading into the harsh, Canadian winters. Seeing to winterising my car, and my home, too, draining the outside taps and turning them off so the minus 40° temps wouldn’t burst the water pipes.

Once again adjusting to sliding out of the lovely, lazier, unstructured days of summer and back into a busybusybusy life again.

And really, although much of our world works this way, it goes against nature.

In many parts of the world, winter is a time when nothing grows. The harvest is in; it’s time for the land to rest. Leaves fall off trees, flowers stop blooming, much of wildlife hibernates or does a milder version of it. It packs on extra weight and/or metabolism slows as protection to get through a season of having less food. Humans included. Not a good time to begin a new weight loss regime. It’s also why we feel sleepier; we’re pushed to conserve energy.

Recently, I’ve been preparing to hibernate — as much as a person can, anyway. This is in keeping with something my former spiritual mentor, Richard, taught me years ago. By November 1, he stopped seeing clients, doing any sort of instruction, Tarot readings, healing sessions, or working with people in any way. He would not be available again until spring — around April, as I recall.

Instead, he would be reading, studying, writing, deepening his own spiritual life and practice. He would spend those months going inward, refuelling and stocking up his inner resources so he would have more to share when spring rolled around again.

When he told me about this, I remembered what my acupuncturist had said a long time before that. A brilliant Chinese doctor (an M.D. as well as practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine), he advised that we are healthiest when we live in harmony with the seasons, and said that the colder months were meant to be a time of replenishing.

Winter invites us to slow down and conserve energy, using the longer nights to rest, recharge, and reflect. It’s recommended that we sleep from about 9 PM to 7 AM — that “sleepier” thing I mentioned above regarding hibernating. It is a deeply nourishing time of Yin — which emphasises cold, slow, inward, still, conservation, and similar themes. There will be plenty of time for the season of Yang when summer rolls around again.

So what Richard said made sense. I couldn’t have shut down my life for the winter months in earlier years while I was raising a bunch of children and running a thriving homeopathy practice. However, now my children are well into adulthood. I’m loving retirement and having the freedom to do exactly as I please.

Which includes retreating during the upcoming colder months.

I have several commitments (all by choice) to contribute creative content to various platforms and projects on an ongoing basis. I enjoy all of them, although at times, having my hand in several pots does leave me feeling like my energy is scattered.

It leaves me feeling unfocused. And interrupting my ability to focus on what matters most.

For me, this would be Medium and getting back to writing novels. Both feed my soul in different ways and together, they provide perfect balance. Going inward and writing novels is a Yin energy, while sharing my life experiences on Medium and engaging with the community there is Yang.

So in order to live a more focused, balanced life, and to have more time over the winter months to rest, read and study, over the past few weeks I’ve been busy creating content and scheduling posts for various platforms so I won’t have to even think about them for a good long time.

When I did this several years ago, I posted just for the colder months. Then I started posting to the end of June.

Well … ever the over-achiever, the “all or nothing, dive in head first before I check to see if there’s water in the pool” girl that I am, after my recent efforts I’ve got posts scheduled through to the end of December 2025, and on one platform, to the end of February 2026.

This means that for at least another year, I’ll have even more time to write novels and hang out on Medium, as well as doing other things I love, like reading, Tai Chi, and studying Italian. All those “inner goodies” I adore.

It occurred to me that I could live like this most of the time and still keep my hand in all of those pots! I can take 6 weeks or so every year at around this time and do the same thing — create and schedule like a crazy person through to the end of the following year. It just takes time and focus.

As if I didn’t already have enough freedom … this will give me even more.

And no doubt, it’ll crank up my already “on-steroids” creativity and — uh-oh. Hang on a minute. I’ve already got notebooks and lists filled with ideas for Stuff To Create. My more than 500 drafts on Medium are but one symptom.

Hmm. On second thought, the last thing I need is more creativity! 😂

He-e-e-e-e-elp!! 🫣 😂