In case you thought winter was over, it just gave us a reminder that we live in a part of the world with an overabundance of negative temperatures! Winter is the season for dormancy. Our modern society has created many advancements to avoid this natural cycle. Some of these have served us well. But in avoiding dormancy, we can lose something as well.

We need dormancy for growth. Like a tree, we don’t easily see growth during the dormancy months. It’s a time when the tree rebuilds strength and resilience inside itself. A tree also needs a gardener to prune out what is dead, diseased, and no longer serving it well. Like a tree, our life can enter into dormancy cycles. We may not be experiencing literal amputations, (if you’ve had to go through this, my heart goes out to you), but it may feel like it’s been “hacked”. All of the work we’ve done has been cut back or cut out, and we’re an ugly barren stump. Just as the pruning process is vital in the health of a dormant tree, we need to embrace it in life. It’s hard to let go.

A friend asked me recently, “What are you holding onto that no longer serves you?” We may have things in our lives that we’ve carried for years. A literal prison sentence of pain and thought patterns holding us back. Dormancy is a time to let go of these things so that when spring comes, growth will not be impeded. Just as a tree can’t properly prune itself, I would suggest we need someone to help us walk through the times of pruning in our life. During the winters of life, we can’t be a “lone wolf”. We won’t survive on our own. We need the relationships around us for strength, protection, collective wisdom, and pooling of resource to not just survive but prosper and grow.

I encourage you to take part in the many activities and community events throughout the area. You can see many of them throughout the paper but also listed on the High Country News Community Calendar. Enjoy the wintery month of February, and look forward to the beginnings of spring.

We want to thank the many people who write and contribute the various community updates and articles on a regular basis. As we don’t rely on any government funding, your financial support is and has been appreciated in order to provide the not-for-profit organizations an effective means of reaching their community.