A Season of Preparation
Winter brings the longest nights of the year, and people have long met that darkness by getting ready for something. Advent wreaths. Candles lit one night at a time for Hanukkah. Solstice fires welcoming the sun’s return.
The traditions are different. Many of them share a rhythm: prepare, gather, make room for light.
Most women know how to prepare. We plan the menu, the guest list, the gifts, the travel, and the handoff at work. We get the season ready for everyone we love.
And by the time the season arrives, there is often little energy left to receive it.
Question: Whether you’re traveling or staying close to home, what would it feel like to arrive at the season with something left for yourself?
Signs the Season Is Running on Empty
You arrive at the celebrations you planned already tired.
The moments you looked forward to pass by in a blur.
Your time off starts, and it takes days to actually feel off.
You love this season, and part of you is ready for it to be over.
Pillar Spotlight: The Science of Awe
Dacher Keltner, whose research guides how I think about travel and awe, describes awe as being in the presence of something vast that goes beyond how you understand the world. His work found that awe is not rare. It shows up in everyday moments.
We can’t prepare for awe. It arrives on its own terms, often when we least expect it. What we can do is prepare to receive it: leave a little space, slow down long enough to notice, and let ourselves take in what’s already there.
Preparing to Receive
A few invitations for the weeks ahead:
Light something for yourself. A candle, a fire, a string of lights. Let it mark a few quiet minutes that belong to you.
Notice the longest night. On the winter solstice, step outside, look at the sky, and let the dark be beautiful.
Leave one open space. Choose one afternoon this season with no plans for anyone.
Discover a tradition. Learn how another culture welcomes winter. Curiosity opens the door to awe.
Postcard Confession: Fajitas, Ornaments, and an Advent Calendar
Fajitas, Ornaments, and an Advent Calendar
When I led a team of Spanish medical interpreters at the hospital, there was no such thing as a quiet holiday season. Patients still needed us. Families still needed someone to help them clearly understand. Holiday time off rotated, so some of us were with our families while others cared for patients.
Each holiday season, I set aside two hours for us to gather. Truly set aside. Of course, if an emergency came up, we would go. That is the work of 24/7 patient care. But for those two hours, we made room for each other: our hospital’s traditional fajita meal, decorations that bathed the conference room in burgundy and gold, and laughter during our white elephant ornament exchange.
I began a tradition of creating a virtual Advent calendar for the team. Each day opened something new: Chilean Pan de Pascua, Colombia’s Día de las Velitas, the little day of candles, Las Posadas in Mexico, winter celebrations around the world, and of course, tamales for Christmas Eve in Texas. They loved it. It was a small way to celebrate where they came from and the cultures they carried into their work every day.
That calendar is part of why I’m opening a new one for you this year.
Awe Intention
This week, prepare to receive. Make a little room in your day or at a gathering, then let go of what happens next. Awe often arrives in the moment you never could have planned.
“When has a moment of unexpected joy found you?”
Coming December 1: A Winter Journey Around the World
Starting December 1, I’m opening a virtual Advent calendar, one small door a day. Each one brings a winter tradition, place, or moment of wonder from around the world, from Hanukkah to the solstice and more. Each takes less than two minutes. It’s a small way to prepare yourself to receive the season.
Join the list to receive it: https://knowdistanceco.myflodesk.com/join
Travel does not restore you because of where you go. It restores you because of what you bring to it and what you allow yourself to receive.
Au revoir, y’all!
Amanda
