I have been writing in this space for nine years. Of course, I’ve only gotten deliberate about judiciously posting in the last three to four. There have been numerous times I’ve gone to post something and recognized the redundancy, felt tired out by my own thoughts. The upside to this observation is at least I’m consistent. The downside depresses me with the feeling that I may be speaking into an ether, or even worse, spitting in the wind. Considering the internet blogging space has only gotten busier and louder, I wonder where I fit in; if I do at all, really. As much as I do have a unique voice, it isn’t particularly remarkable.

This is exactly what writing is, finding the right words; sifting through the metaphorical rubble to prose-up a hidden gem.

Sometimes I’m extraordinary. Sometimes I’m ordinary.

I spent a good chunk of time yesterday afternoon with my plants and vines; rinsing, snipping, watering, and rearranging their green room. I raked outside and cleared away a lot of the winter withered and dead. Certain life forms just go dormant during the cold. They may look dead, but they don’t die. They don’t need to be pulled up like a weed and thrown away, just covered up and left alone until the first hint of spring seeps into their soil.

I considered how we don’t often get the chance to live according to the seasons. To take time off, to go on a sabbatical, to go on a retreat, these are exceptional. Realistically, we fall ill and stay in bed for a week because our body just shuts down. The forced break.

Maybe we can harness the dormancy by taking a moment to self-reflect, acknowledge what no longer needs to be said, what died off last season or many seasons ago.

rooting vines

Dormancy is a period in an organism’s life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be closely associated with environmental conditions. -Wiki