Prune
This is the first time I’ve taken January as a slow month—giving up any idea of rushing in and conquering the new year. And I have to say, I like it. I’ve traded in social events for phone catch-ups with old friends. I’m sleeping more, dreaming more, going on long walks. It’s about as close to hibernation as possible. It might not sound exciting, but it feels deeply restorative.
I’m not the only one taking this approach. I’ve been inspired by people like artist Anna Brones, who believes in making January an in-between month. Garden educator and writer Megan GIlger, on her podcast recently, was talking about ways to tend to yourself in January.
I love how both of these women are influenced by natural cycles. I am too. I’ve noticed the chickens put themselves to sleep at about 3pm this time of year; the dog starts looking at the bedroom door a full two hours before his usual bedtime. When I stop and pay attention, it’s clear this is a time to go slow.
It’s also a time to prune.
I’ve been gardening for nearly twenty years now, and it’s an annual study in growth, abundance, and contraction. Bulbs and seeds sprout, grow, flower, and fade. But there is one thing we don’t talk about much and that is pruning.
If you’re a gardener, you know pruning has to do with cutting back, getting rid of dead growth, shaping, reinvigorating.
Here’s the actual definition:
1). To trim a tree, shrub, or bush by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.
2). To reduce the extent of something by removing superfluous or unwanted parts.
Plants need to be pruned, but I think lives need to be as well.
I wrote a few weeks ago about making small changes—about shifting twenty minutes of time over to what we want to be doing. But the truth is, we cannot add endlessly without subtracting something. What are the things that are taking up our time that we’d really rather not be doing?
In this slow and quiet month, that’s what I’ve been thinking about: what am I ready to get rid of? (Yes, I know—work, housework, taxes, etc. I feel the same. But what are the things we can we get rid of without negative repercussions?).
I’ve done this at different points in my life and in different ways. I love the experience of moving to a new place—a new city or country, especially—because it gives a blank slate on which to build. Some things, of course, we take with us, but I’ve loved those first weeks and months in a new place, days that feel deliciously empty and spacious before they get filled up.
It’s harder to cut back when you’re staying in the same place. But it’s still possible. And this is the time of year to do it.
Are there commitments you’d rather extricate yourself from? Are there relationships that no longer fit the way they once did? What about physical items—books, magazines, clothes, sports gear? Most of us have old things cluttering our life. What would it feel like to let go? Would it feel like freedom?
I’m currently going through my old things—starting with books—and reevaluating what I need to hold onto.
Because dead wood needs to be cut back in order for a plant to flourish. And we are no different. Healthy humans are continually growing, and our lives should reflect it. It’s as true of the herb plants on my deck, as it is of my own life.
In this slow season, that’s what I’m considering. I’m looking around, deciding what to let go of. Because spring is coming, new growth will soon be here.
Further reading/listening
Anna Brones: Make January an in-between month
Megan Gilger: Five ways to tend to yourself in January