Living in Britain is a rollercoaster. Do you wonder why we spend so much time talking about the weather? Because it is different every bloody day. Sometimes several times a day.
British people are ruled by the seasons.
On our small island we are never more than 85 miles from the sea (and a hell of a lot less if you count tidal estuaries) so weather arrives on our shores from all directions. And if you live in some of the more exposed places, like the peninsular of Cornwall for example, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, you can really experience four seasons in one day, as the legendary Crowded House sang.
British people have no idea what is it like to have the stability of weather that is the same day in, day out. We can’t imagine ever being properly dressed for the weather, and not coming home too hot, too cold, wet or windswept.
Our summers, although warmer, are peppered with drizzle, clouds and winds. Our autumns and springs often include both the hottest and the wettest days of the year. And our winters tend to be consistently damp and grey, touched with the occasional bout of splendid winter sunshine.
When the summer ends and the schools return, the shops bring out the Christmas displays and everyone moans.
But we need the festive season more than we realise.
Even if we don’t celebrate the actual day, or we hate the commercialism, or we just dislike Christmas for whatever reason… The lights, the music, the colour, the cheer – it all helps to get us through the transition from long, warm(ish) summer days, to those brief spells of grey between sunrise and sunset in winter.
So Christmas. New Year’s Eve. But then it’s finished. Back to the normal routine. With the added gloom of another year over. (And what have you done?) The only way to get through winter, is a good Resolution.
Now before you dismiss them, as so many do these days; before you roll your eyes, tell me you never keep them up, you end up feeling a failure; hear me out. Many studies have produced many stats that say yes, most people do in fact give up their resolutions by about mid February. But the point is – that is absolutely fine!
A resolution doesn’t have to be for the rest of your life, or even for the rest of the year.
A resolution can simply be a tool, a target to get you through the dreary depths of British winter. And it’s never too late to make one. Who cares if you missed half of January? Call it a Winter Resolution instead – a Winter Whim?
Pick something to do every day, or week for the winter months, tick it off on a calendar. Make it something you want to do, not something you feel you should do. You’ll have a focus, a goal. It doesn’t have to be life changing – say hello to a stranger every day, do three sit ups while you wait for the morning brew to stew, or maybe just remember to brush your hair. If you want to go big, go big! Learn how to tap dance, live solely on green foods, write a novel. It could be a treat to yourself: a daily smoothie, five minutes of peace somewhere, a walk with a podcast.
Whatever it is, throw your heart into it, and you’ll be surprised how quickly the bleak winter days blend into sparkling spring.
Ruth x
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