We like to imagine that it’s possible for life to be one eternal summer…

Katherine May’s Wintering is a refreshing account of life’s low points:

Wintering is….a fallow period in life when you’re cut off from the world, feeling rejected, side-lined, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider…Wintering is a season in the cold.

We may find ourselves in a personal winter because of the obvious: an illness, a death, or a break up. But May points out that we may also find ourselves experiencing the emotional cold of winter at any point in the year—when a project fails, or we discover that our skills are considered obsolete or because of the slow drip-drip-drip of lost confidence.

What do we do when we find ourselves cut off? May suggests that the way through is the active acceptance of sadness. Each of us must summon the courage to stare down the worst parts of our experience and commit to healing them the best we can. Retreat. Rest. Change your focus away from pushing through with normal life and towards making a new one.

If the concept of wintering while in summer seems odd, we might instead draw inspiration from estivation, a resourceful habit of snails. When conditions are unfavorable—too hot or too dry—a snail finds a safe place to retreat into its shell, seals up its entrance with a temporary mucus door, and waits for conditions to improve. I had no idea snails are such admirable creatures until I read The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, by Elizabeth Tova Bailey, another gem of a book about life’s unpredictability, illness, and the power of rest.

Whatever your too much experience is—too many visitors, obligations, deadlines—I hope you learn to recognize the signals that it’s time for rest before you’re completely spent. No doubt life will give you ample opportunities to practice refining this skill.

My regular classes will be on pause until October while I am working with Marina Abramović. I will be helping to prepare 40 performers for her upcoming exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. Marina is the first woman to have a solo exhibition in their 250 year history!