Wiser Living…
Writing this in lockdown in February with the snow falling, I am reminded of an interview with Katherine May on “How ‘Wintering’ Replenishes” from the ‘On Being’ podcast[1]. It is a lyrical and moving interview that reminds us of the need to hunker down sometimes and allow our bodies and souls to replenish. It’s no wonder we’re tired in the context of where we are in the flow of this pandemic, finding ourselves in the foothills of exhaustion and possibly burnout.
The term ‘Wiser living’ denotes the final stage on the chart of Phases of Collective Trauma Response.[2] It is seen as the fruit of coming through traumatic events maybe with wounds and scars but with a much deeper understanding of and grace towards our bodies, our souls, our relationships, our work and our faith. Wiser living says, I wouldn’t have chosen for this awful thing to have happened but I have learnt so much through it, I am stronger now.
Katherine May speaks of knowing in her body, her gut instinct, that she was struggling almost a year before she was officially signed off work with exhaustion and burnout. She speaks now of learning to trust her ability to know what she needs and to listen to it. Perhaps you may not be at the stage of burnout yet, but knowing you are exhausted, depleted, in need of rest and replenishment. Be kind to yourself, listen to your body, your soul, to God within you and allow yourself time to ‘Winter’.
Hilary Ison 12.02.21
[1] https://onbeing.org/programs/katherine-may-how-wintering-replenishes/ (accessed 07.02.21)
[2] https://www.ictg.org/phases-of-disaster-response.html