Up now on Spotify. Find me there at @debharkness.
We’re entering the season of the year when, in the northern hemisphere, nature is curling up and readying herself for winter. For most of us, however, winter has become the season of high anxiety, racing around, and people pleasing.
I pulled together this playlist and titled it with a nod to @katherinemay_ and her wonderful book Wintering. Katherine’s work is a compelling reminder that we need times of slowness and repose, and is the perfect reading for this time of year.
My playlist is entirely instrumental and there is not a jingle bell in it so you can put this on whenever you need a reminder to take a rest and breathe. It’s nearly 16 hours long, so you’re not likely to run out of music! As always with my playlists, shuffle is recommended.
My heater is moody at the moment, so I lit a fire in the bedroom, put this on, and slept blissfully through the night. I’ve been doing music therapy to help me with life’s latest challenges and if your household has more ruffled feathers than a turkey farm, playing this in the background may help soothe everyone.
A few more suggestions:
❄️ subscribe to @bethkempton on Instagram, Substack, and in your podcast feeds. Her brilliant Calm Christmas Podcast and accompanying book are another antidote to stress
❄️ another podcast to subscribe to is the equally brilliant Witchy Woman Walking. Cate takes us on a walk through her Connecticut landscape and delivers honest wisdom, book recommendations, and even an oracle card pull! It’s encouraged me to get out and walk with her. At around 40 minutes it will lower your blood pressure (and get you out of the house…), but it’s equally wonderful to sit in an armchair, close your eyes, and imagine yourself into Cate’s woodland setting.
