My fatigue and general lack of energy overwhelmed me today more severely than usual. I felt as if all my achy joints were unwinding and loosening at the same time, and my chi left my body like a wraith slowly rising from the depth of the unknown. I succumbed to crawling into bed in the mid-afternoon.

While resting in bed I couldn’t help asking myself, “Why am I so bone tired? Why do I feel as if I’ve been soaking in a ‘fatigue-brew’?” As soon as I heard the end of this question in my head, I remembered what Charles told me when I said the same thing a couple of days ago: “Don’t ask why. Listen to your body and simply rest and see if you feel better.” Since the beginning of this month of December, I’ve been taking naps in the afternoon almost every day. Not only that, I’ve had a hard time getting up in the morning as well, feeling sluggish and not fully rested.

Come to think of it, I have always had these sorts of challenges in the winter months, especially in December. I am convinced that I am solar powered, and my body may be reacting to the lack of light in the winter when the nights are long and the days are short. Ah, the winter solstice tomorrow! My body must be in tune with the seasonal changes, and I am feeling the darkness, slowness, and sleepiness of the winter season. It is time to slow down, go underground, and slumber just as the nature’s cycle does.

A quote that Charles shared with me some time ago comes to mind as if written on a blackboard in stark, white chalk:

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
—Lao Tzu

I often forget that I am part of Nature; I am not apart from Nature although it is so easy to be trapped by the illusion that we are, or we live, apart from Nature. It seems to me that Nature and humanity go hand-in-hand: we cannot create a thriving community and humanity without a healthy relationship and reciprocity with Nature. And I realize that it all starts with me living consciously, honestly, and respectfully of my own internal nature: the “me” that is reflection of the external natural environment as commonly known as Nature.

Yes, the bare tree branches, dead leaves on the lawn, and dark winter nights seem to be ruling my world and body at the present moment, but I also know that the spring time will be here in Nature’s time. There’s no need to hurry; Nature’s cycle allows everything to be accomplished in its time. The days are not going to get any longer just because I am anxious to get more sunlight and more time to be outside under the blue sky and puffy white clouds; however, undoubtedly the days will start getting longer on the other side of the winter solstice, won’t they?

Instead of fighting against Nature, whether it is the external world of nature, or my own pattern of how I am made, I now see the wisdom of Lao Tzu in having faith in Nature of which I am an intricate and integral part. As I celebrate tomorrow’s winter solstice, I’d like to compost fuss, frustration, and futile resistance against Nature. I will practice being calm, patient, and relaxed in flow, alignment, and rhythm with Nature, even my sluggish body I experience in the winter months. I will cultivate the faith that such being will allow me to accomplish everything I need and want in Life, including my future work on the horizon which shall be in flow, alignment, and rhythm with Nature inside and outside me.