I was in the arctic circle. It was freezing cold. Our guide told us about what it is like to live here in the winter months when the sun doesn’t rise for four months. Two of those months the sky stays black. For one month either side of the blackness, the sky lightens for a few hours a day as the sun gets closer to the horizon.
She said two things that captured my imagination.
First, it is far more noticeable when the winter is drawing to a close and you are getting close to the sun rising again than when the summer comes to an end and you are nearing the end of four months of sunlight. At the end of summer, although it might come close to setting, when the sun is up, the sun is up. Light emanates from the sun whether it is close to the horizon or not. But when you are in darkness, the diffused light that colours the sky without the sun peeking above the horizon gives hope for what is to come.
The other thing she said was that it is in the wintertime that you find out who your friends are.
There is a hardiness that characterises those who manage to survive an arctic winter.
If you apply her two thoughts to our growth and habits, it paints an interesting picture.
Think of the person who regularly eats junk. They feel a bit off or lacking in energy, but one day (when the sun finally sets), they end up with a diagnosis as a consequence of their habits.
Or think of the person who has tight muscles. Their muscles make them stiff and they lose flexibility, but one day, at that crucial moment, their muscles do not function as required and an injury happens.
We don’t necessarily notice when we’re heading downhill. It might be stress that’s getting on top of us and we assume that we will be able to continue to manage, until one day, we can’t.
It might be an offence that we allow to grow and multiply until one day that relationship is broken.
For those who have experience, who have been through that winter season before, they will recognise the signs. This is the moment when someone makes an uncomfortable observation about the way you are walking. Whether it’s an encouragement to eat well, to stretch, to take some time out, to forgive, we often don’t realise how close we are to the change that will happen when that sun sets on our current season.
But when we’re already in the dark; when we’ve been unwell, injured, burnt out or had broken relationships, this theory of the ending winter comes into play.
When we change our habits, start our rehabilitation process, reprioritise, or reconcile, things lighten a little but then they get dark again.
Our medical markers improve, but we’re still not in the healthy range. Our pain reduces after stretching, but then we’re stiff and sore again the next morning. We take the rest that our body demands but we’re exhausted by the smallest effort. We are ready to approach the relationship differently, but then those familiar patterns remind us of the pain.
Think of it like the arctic circle coming out of winter. The sun comes close to the horizon, but it doesn’t actually rise. Light and colour dance around the edges, but the breakthrough of sunrise is still some time away.
So, if you’re in the dark and, despite hints of improvement or change, you are feeling discouraged, I encourage you to keep going. Every day from this season leads to spring, the sun gets closer to the horizon, the light gets lighter, and the colours get that bit brighter.
Keep up your new habits. Your new way of doing things won’t instantly drop you into mid-spring, but what they will do is reverse what was happening as you approached winter. This spring will look different to the last, things will not be as they were. But spring will come.
Look at the signs of change that hint at the promise of things to come with joy. Brighter moments provide hope for the time that the sun will finally rise over the horizon.
Celebrate your progress. Notice the changes. Observe the colours over this period that you don’t get to see when the sun is up.
The reality is that during a dark winter, it is hard to keep going. It is challenging just to get through. And that is where the tour guide’s second statement comes into play. “It is in the wintertime that you find out who your friends are.”
When you’re struggling and things are at their worst, that is when you find your people. That is when you find out who can handle seeing the real you. That is when you find out who encourages you, builds you up and sits with you in the dark.
Those are the people that celebrate the hints of light that dance around the edges with you. Those are the people who share your hopes about the season that is coming.
Those are also the people who appreciate what you bring to their winter season. They find hope and comfort and friendship through you in their dark times.
So, for those winter seasons when things are hard, be encouraged when you see small changes – even if they seem fleeting, as if they won’t fully materialise. In nature, there is a cycle that plays out time and time again. Change is gradual. Predictable, but gradual. Keep working towards the moment when the sun will finally rise again, but be aware that even when that happens, it will only rise for a short time at first and it will stay low in the sky until it sets again.
Hold on to the hope that winter does not last forever. Celebrate the increase in light when it appears. Depending on where you live, winter has varying levels of darkness, one person’s winter will look very different to another’s.
In those hard times, appreciate the colour and light that stir around the edges, growing to finally release light back into your situation. Appreciate the people that spend that time with you.
I was in the arctic circle. It was summertime there. But their summer was colder than our winter at home. The people who live there are hardy. Most people shy away from a winter in the arctic. But those who stay through the darkness and learn the lessons of that season, develop a strength and perseverance that many do not have.
Our dark times develop strength and perseverance too. It is uncomfortable and challenging, and we’d prefer to speed up the process, but in the winter, hold on to the hope of spring. It will come in its season.
