I am Jenni Eagleman, Spiritual Care Provider at Minnesota Oncology. I have been doing Spiritual Care work for 15 years in a variety of settings including hospice, skilled nursing and the hospital. I am passionate about connecting with people and love helping them find new ways of being that fill their heart and soul. I am available to meet with any Minnesota Oncology patient and hold visits in our Woodbury and Maple Grove locations and telehealth visits. This is my first of many more blogs to come and I look forward to sharing stories, words of hope and encouragement and exploring new ways of making meaning.

As I sit here on a frigid winter day, I am reminded that the earth shows us how to live. Winter gives us the invitation to focus on slowing down, rebuilding our energy reserves, quieting our hearts, minds and bodies. It really is counter intuitive to our American, human experience. We live in a society where the focus is always on how much we can produce and how fast we can do it. Winter reminds us to shift our focus from DO-ing to BE-ing.

I love this quote from Katherine May’s book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. May says, “Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Wintering is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximizing scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible. It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment, for putting your house in order. Doing these deeply unfashionable things — slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep, resting — is a radical act now, but it’s essential.”

How will you shift your focus this winter to replenish yourself?

Peace, joy and hope to you!

Learn more about Jenni and contact your Minnesota Oncology clinic to schedule an appointment.