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Winter means air to me. The light softens, the sun sets sooner, everything is more blue and almost incandescent around the edges. It's the air, though, with its sharp lightness as it slips down my throat when I walk that reminds me---ahh, it's wintertime. And I love the winter air. I really do. It makes me swift and easy in my gestures, my walks outside---sprightly, buoyant, really. The holidays, too, take me for a spirited ride with all of the emphasis on stuff. Stuff. Even the word feels unpleasant, short, unfulfilling. Stuff.
I found stuff when I journeyed down into our basement the other night and found leftover bulbs from the spring. What a pleasant surprise it was as I rolled them around in the palm of my hand an noticed little green sprouts out the top. After some research, I realized there is nothing much I can do with them unless they're cold-treated. I suppose I could plant them in the ground now with some mulch and wait for them to sprout in springtime.
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But I'll admit: Even though the word stuff, and all it suggests, leaves me feeling materialistic, I became attached to the idea of having this 'stuff' of the bulbs planted, positioned, and growing strong in my home for the holiday. So when I realized I couldn't do anything with these little babies right now, I went to the garden store and bought a few paperwhites for $.79 each.
Because it wasn't just the idea of something beautiful growing in my home {besides my houseplants, which I hope will not be offended by this}. It was the desire in me to get ground. Winter air is nice and all, but I do miss the ground---soil, sun, earth, dirt, worms.
And not just literally. Once could say metaphorically, too. In my yoga class this week and next, I'm focusing on getting grounded in your practice to help ground you through the holidays. When I wrote this in my description and then talked about it in class, I had one of those moments where I thought, "What do I really mean by getting grounded? How does one get grounded?"
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And I know for every single one of us it's different. For some during the holidays, getting grounded is getting stuff. For some, it's getting little and giving small tokens of gratitude and affection to one another. In yoga, for some it's a series of standing poses to ground down through the legs. For others, it's hip openers and breathing practices. Well, you get the drift.
For me, getting grounded was literally getting some ground. With my paperwhites and some rocks, pots and potting soil, I dug in. I put the paperwhites in with the rocks and re-potted two beloved house plants given to me by my brother all the way from Astoria Park in Queens.
What helps you get ground?
May you find some for yourself this holiday, even if it's just a little bit of earth, like these little paperwhites preparing to deliver some crazy kind of natural splendor one winter day soon.
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P.S.: Many thanks for Corey & Kate for the beautiful cutting board given to me and my husband in honor of our marriage, which we celebrate this Sunday! Five years in the making, C+E. xo
