Thoughts & Musings / Saison d'Hiver

Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice, and this new issue of Saisons is arriving just before Christmas and in the past few weeks we have all been inundated with the question “What do you want?” Perhaps this was an easy question for you to answer, but perhaps like me, there was no simple answer and instead it led one to think about one’s desires on a deeper level. In our Winter issue of our Saisons Quarterly we delve into our dreams and ask ourselves what is it we want? What do we truly desire in our hearts? We explore this dream through our five senses with a very intentional journal exercise.

Play our { Saisons Playlist / Winter Solstice }, make yourself a cup of tea or hot cocoa, take a few deep intentional breaths, and we invite you to sit for a spell and stay for awhile.

Thoughts & Ponderings for Winter

What do you want? What is it you truly want? In this season of gift giving, you and I have been asked many times what is it we would like (for Christmas). Sure, there were a few things I could think of, mostly a variety of seeds I wanted for my garden and a wax seal related to the Shire. Small trifles. When it comes to material things, I have found I’m quite content, I rarely want for much. But beyond these objects, the question “What do you truly want?” lingered on my shoulders all week and by Saturday morning, with a hot cup of tea and a blank journal page, I was still without an answer. 

It dawned on me then that it has been years, so many years, since I asked myself what I truly desired. To open up my heart and let a new dream take shape. You see dear reader, over 10 years ago, my dream was Adored Vintage, and that dream is now my reality and has been for a few years now. It is a wonderful feeling to have a dream come true, but here is something they don’t often tell you when your dreams do come true. You must MAINTAIN the dream. Let me rephrase that, you must MAINTAIN the reality that was your dream.

When Cinderella married the Prince, we are told “they lived happily ever after”, but let’s get real here. She was a commoner that married into a royal family. Marriage itself takes work but now politics are involved, throw in a few scheming relatives, a whole slew of new rules to live by, titles to learn, new etiquette and customs to master… I don’t think Cinderella really knew what she was getting herself into.

When we dream, we don’t think of the reality of our dreams. What happens after our dreams come true. Why should we? That’s boring.  When I was dreaming about Adored Vintage, I dreamed about it in detail. Down to the particulars like a large vintage wood farm table to work on, which so happens to be the surface we package all your orders on. I wasn’t dreaming about the reality of what running and operating a business would be like. When I was dreaming, I was dreaming about how I wanted Adored Vintage to look and feel, how I myself wanted to feel. My dreams were not to increase ROIs, improve KPIs, or AOVs. Those things are now the realities of my dream coming true. Please do not mistake my words as complaints, I am absolutely in love with what I do! I share these with you because for so long, I have not dreamt new dreams. I have for years been maintaining my reality that once upon a time was just a dream.

After the kinetic merriment of the holidays, the quiet and stillness of winter settles in. Let’s make a promise to one another to use this time in between to enter a dreaming phase. Perchance to dream a new dream, to revisit an old dream and make edits and amendments. What is it you dream about? What is it in your deepest heart that you desire? Do you know? For my own self, a new dream is not yet clear. I know it exists, but like a misty fog in winter, it is opaque and shrouds a tangible and distinct landscape. What I hold on to now is knowing a new dream does exist though no real shape of it has materialized, and this feeling, this uncertainty mingled with hope, is a feeling I have not felt in so long and one I am in the midst of embracing.

It is important to note also that your dreams need not be grand or expansive. It is perfectly all right if your dream is to become more at peace with your surroundings. If your dream is simply to have a small garden on your patio. Your dreams can CHANGE and EVOLVE, after all you are a mere yet beautiful human being ebbing and flowing and growing and changing, so why wouldn't your dreams change with you?

So, are you ready friend? Are you ready to enter into the dreaming space with me?

Journal & Reflection

What is it you dream about? How does it look? How does your life look? How do you want to feel? Describe your surroundings, down to the details and describe your dream for each of your senses.

LISTEN: SAISONS QUARTERLY / WINTER SOLSTICE PLAYLIST

For your eyes… How does your dream look? What does it look like to be in the environment of your dreams? Describe the colors of your dreams. If you had to assign a singular color to your dream, what is this color? What does the light look like in your dreams? Soft, moody, bright, cool, warm?

For your ears… How does your dream sound? Perhaps it’s a particular song. Perhaps it’s the sound of children’s laughter. Perhaps it’s the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. Perhaps it’s the chime of bells in your own shop.

For your touch… What does the tangible part of your dream feel like? Is it grounding? Are your hands touching the Earth while you tend to a garden? Is it the feel of soft fabrics? Is it the touch of a loved one? Is it the warmth of a cup of tea?

For your nose… What scents surround your dreams? Is it green, floral, warm, clean, bright, earthy, or woodsy? Scents can be powerful and can recall memories and evoke feelings. What feelings and memories does your dream awaken or rekindle through scent alone? Does it remind you of a blissful Spring day in the countryside? An Autumn walk in the afternoon? A tucked away bookshop in Paris?

For your mouth… Perhaps taste may not apply to your dream (unless your dream is to open a cafe or bakery), so if it is not quite obvious how this sense would apply, think of it in speaking terms. Choose and assign three words to your dreams. Is it CREATE, INSPIRE, GROW? Perhaps it is MINDFUL, CALM, BREATH. How does each word apply to your dreams? What does each word mean to you? Perhaps you want to CREATE new art. Your art will INSPIRE others. It is important that through your art you GROW as a person. Write each word down on three notecards and speak the words out loud.

Seasonal Home & Garden Checklist

Winter Solstice Celebrations

The Feast of Juul is observed in Scandinavia when fires were lit to symbolize the rebirth and return of the sun. A yule or juul log was burned at the hearth in honor of the Scandinavian god, Thor. This originated the tradition of burning a yule log in other European countries. Different countries adopted different customs associated with the burning of a yule log. In Scandinavia a yule log would not be burned all the way to ashes and instead part of it was saved as kindling for the following year’s yule log. In countries like Germany and England, ashes of the yule log were scattered on to fields as fertilizer.

In China, Dōngzhì Festival is celebrated on the winter solstice and it is believed that on this day the “yang” in yin and yang is believed to grow stronger as more positive energy flows with the return of the sun and the days will now be longer. Families gather together to celebrate the good things that happened in the current year. Dōngzhì is also observed in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Traditionally dumplings, rice cakes, or balls of glutinous rice are eaten to symbolize reunion and are commonly shared and enjoyed amongst friends, neighbors, and family.

Chime In

If you have ideas to add to our Winter themes or just want to say you appreciated this post and found it thought provoking, do let us know by commenting below! We love reading your comments!