Listening to the HEART in This Season

This time of year I notice something tender in a lot of the people who come through my door. Not just tired bodies, but tired hearts. Winter has a way of turning us inward — and for those of us who feel deeply, that quiet, inward time is often when everything we’ve been holding finally gets a chance to be felt.

One of my patients shared something with me years ago that I've never forgotten. She’s a caregiver, a mother, a wife, a daughter — always showing up for everyone else. She came in one day and said, “I've finally realized I can’t serve anybody from an empty basket.” And she was right. When our own inner basket is empty, even the smallest things can start to feel draining.

I’ve also been thinking about a friend of mine who is truly an introvert, even though she looks like a 'people person' from the outside. She was having trouble sleeping, and she realized that nighttime was the only quiet space she had to process everything from the day — all the conversations, the emotions, the caring. When she didn’t get enough of that inward time, she didn’t feel as much like being around other people. Not because she didn’t love them — but because her heart simply hadn’t had time to refill.

That’s something I see again and again: sensitive, caring people don’t need less connection… they need the right kind of connection. The kind that doesn’t drain them. The kind that doesn't ask too much.

That might be reaching out in small, gentle ways — a short note on a windshield, a little <3 text, a simple “You're on my mind.” We don’t have to pour everything out. What is small and sincere often carries the most warmth.

And just as important is learning how to nourish ourselves a little more deeply. Not to rush the process, but to let the nervous system settle, like a bird in its nest, so the heart can breathe again.

For me, that often looks like long hot baths with aromatherapy salts, a few quiet cups of tea throughout the day, and herbal medicines with plants like rose that gently support the heart. It might be your favorite blanket, a stick of incense after work, or a few minutes of doggie cuddles before bed. Small things — but they add up.

This season isn’t asking us to do more. It's asking us to care more kindly for the hearts that do so much. And from there, connection comes naturally.