Take a walk

The simple transformative power of going outside in the winter

My last newsletter feels like it was a lifetime ago - we were back in 2022, still on vacation. Now we’ve solidly completed our “return to office,” even made it through the week of easing back in so that it feels like there are no more good reasons for still being in a state of “catching up.” My sister-in-law said I need to share some strategies for making it easier to go back to work after the holidays and to that I say: there’s only so much I can do.

I’m writing to you from a cafe in Tromsø, my beloved little city in the Arctic, where I’m back for more book research and trying to turn nostalgic smells into descriptive prose, where I’m trying to look at a familiar place with a discerning eye. It’s 10:15am and the Polar Light of the Polar Night is a gorgeous blue gray. The sun won’t come up here today - I won’t see it for another week - but we still have indirect light, soft brightness, plenty of colors. I’m here asking myself again where we can take inspiration from Tromsø - dressing properly for the weather, candles on every table - and noticing what is harder to export - the slanting Arctic light, the Aurora Borealis, the universal healthcare.

My coziest writing spot ever. Note the amazing light of the “blue time” in Tromsø at 10:30am.

We’re entering the time of year I call the winter doldrums. The holidays are behind us, and with them much of our seasonal excitement and cheer, and yet the winter stretches on ahead. Technically the days are only getting longer and lighter, but it still feels like the darkest part of the year. For me, this is where the rubber meets the road in terms of loving winter.

And so I’ve saved a strategy for this very moment: one that is deceptively simple yet utterly transformative, one that is accessible to everyone yet so many people overlook.

Go outside.

When I talk to people who love winter, the number one thing I hear is that in order to really embrace and enjoy the season, you must go outside in the winter. Feeling like you can’t go outside because of the weather, the darkness, the cold guarantees that winter will be limiting. That, combined with the lack of sun, fresh air, and movement is a recipe for these next few months to feel like a real bummer.

Your challenge for the next two weeks is to go outside every day. Maybe you live somewhere this is easy, and your commute to work has you walking no matter the weather, and you can make these commuter walks more intentional, attend to them more. Maybe you add in a few additional walks just for fun. Maybe you live somewhere you often go from home to car to office to grocery store to car to home, and this is a new idea. Maybe you take your cup of coffee or tea on your front porch in the morning and you go from 0 to 5 minutes, or maybe you take inspiration from my sister-in-law (Ilana showing up twice in one newsletter!) and convert your spring and summer and fall running habit into a winter one. Maybe you have a body of water you can stroll along, a beach or a river or a lake, or you take a fat tire bike through the city and park. The possibilities are endless.

Go Outside

It seems almost too simple, and yet too many people I know and meet and talk to don’t have spending time outdoors as part of their winter schema. When I assign students in my classes to go outside in the winter, there is almost invariable resistance to the idea. And yet the students who push through and try it anyway find it far less miserable and far more pleasurable than they were expecting. Follow these simple steps to kickstart or ramp up your practice.

Step 1: Dress properly. One thing I’ve seen in all the Nordic countries is a true appreciation of how to dress for winter. Right now in Tromsø it’s 32°F - cold, certainly, but not so bitter arctic cold. But I’m wearing my thin merino wool long underwear under my wool blend pants, wool socks, a merino wool long sleeved undershirt, and a wool sweater (can you guess what material is recommended for being the warmest and keeping you driest in winter? It’s wool!). You need more than jeans and sneakers to be comfortable in the winter; long underwear, thermal undergarments, good coat, something to cover your ears, gloves or mittens, and a scarf. Dressing so that you’re not actually cold is an absolute necessity for enjoying outdoor activities in winter.

Step 2: Go outside and pay attention. Whether it’s for five minutes smelling the fresh air in the morning, for an hour long hike, running, biking, playing tennis, or walking your dog, pick an activity and try to go somewhere you like. Don’t let the weather stop you: go in the bitter cold, in the dark, in the rain and the snow and the damp. Dressed appropriately, with waterproof layers, the weather becomes part of the experience (an unnecessary but necessary disclaimer: use your judgement here. Don’t let the weather stop you, but don’t go out in a tornado/bomb cyclone/severe blizzard, etc.). Once there, notice being outside. Notice how you feel. Are you colder or warmer than you thought you’d be? What do you smell? What do you hear and see? Is being outside different than you expected? Is it different than it looked from indoors? Your experiences don’t have to be all positive - just attend to them non-judgmentally, notice your thoughts and feelings.

Step 3: Return home. Revel in the warmth. One thing that often gets overlooked is how lovely it is to return home to somewhere nice and warm after having been outside. This is seen as the opposite to getting outside in the winter: if you like coming home, it means you must not like going out. But it’s only so lovely to come home because you’ve been outside, and returning home with a sense of accomplishment, getting back in the warmth, having a hot beverage - that’s all part of the experience to be enjoyed and indulged in.

This is one that I can’t wait to hear how it goes. Let me know where you go or what you do and how it feels. I’ll be right there with you, getting outside in the Arctic, in the dark and the wet, for the next few weeks. You can share your experience here, or email me directly at kari@karileibowitz.com.

Notes from the slush pile:

• The weather in Tromsø is currently a Wintry Mix - true sleet, a mix of rain and snow. As much as I love the title, and the metaphor, and the actual weather, it’s not ideal. Rain in the Arctic at this time of year is concerning, and rain in the middle of winter increases the risk of avalanches, making it harder for people to hike and ski and enjoy the snow for the rest of the season. To help fight climate change and keep winter wintery, a group of winter athletes founded Protect Our Winters - an organization I’m on the science advisory board for. You can read more about them and their mission on their website, and in this New York Times article.

• Speaking of getting outside, a reader shared this article with me, asking people how they’re getting outside this winter. You can take inspiration from their answers.

• More inspiration for dressing for the weather: these Tromsø tots, ready for the cold and darkness of the polar night. Picture by my husband, Robert.