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Honoring the Winter Season: The Benefits of Productive Procrastination December 31, 2025 14:39
I woke up on Christmas Eve morning with song lyrics rolling around in my head. This is not unusual for me. I typically wake up with a melody. Sometimes they are commercial jingles from the ‘70s; sometimes, they are instrumental tunes—pop, jazz, R&B, classical…what these melodies often carry for me, besides a tune, is a message. If I can’t shake the song after an hour or so, I know it’s time to look up the lyrics and have a listen.
On this morning, the song was “Unwritten,” by Natasha Bedingfield:
“Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.”
The message was clear…WRITE!!!
***
Most writers have rituals…patterns or habits that encourage the writing process. My prewriting ritual involves a bit of productive procrastination. On Christmas Eve morning, I spent some time sitting on the floor of my closet sorting through and folding up an assortment of tee shirts, camis, and tank tops that take up quite a bit of space when they aren’t neatly folded and put away. The shelves were overflowing with wadded up, wrinkled tees, and the small metal organizer was stuffed with tanks and camis. If I removed one, five more would follow and fall to the floor in a heap.
Taking the time to sort, organize, fold, and cull what I no longer needed helped me to clear my head and arrange my thoughts. Clearing the physical clutter helped me to clear the mental clutter.
After taking a shower, eating breakfast, listening to an online Dharma practice, and cleaning the bathroom sink and mirror—I was finally ready to write!
***
The days leading up to the winter holiday break are challenging for me. I don’t mind the season of winter—the cold, bare branches, and snow. Winter is a time of quiet reflection—it’s a time to slow down and hunker down.
Being bombarded with bright lights, peppy Christmas tunes, and the pressure to consume and buy stuff—all of these things are jarring and unsettling for me, and they are counterintuitive to the winter season.
The older I get, the more the holiday season seems like an obligation to me. It feels like an unpleasant chore. Honestly, I’d rather scrub the baseboards and clean the cat pan than decorate the tree or bake Christmas cookies.
At school, I ignored this year’s emails announcing the staff holiday party and gift exchange. I made a brief appearance at the annual holiday luncheon—then slipped back to my office to check-in with students who were preparing for final exams.
I’m torn between the pressure to fit in—to join in and succumb to the pressure to be “merry and bright” or to listen to my own intuitive guidance to do less, to slow down, to reflect, to meditate, to breathe and be.
***
The winter season is about gathering strength through rest, stillness, and silence. Winter doesn’t rush, and I don’t want to, either. I think about the woodchuck that lives underneath our barn, curling up into the earth, preparing for spring by resting in winter.
My husband and I enjoyed a quiet Christmas at home with our daughter and son-in-law. We had a nice dinner and exchanged a few thoughtful gifts. It wasn’t too loud, crowded, or over-the-top, but with enough tradition sprinkled in to feel like a holiday (a decorated tree, stockings, presents wrapped with care).
***
The day after Christmas the weather was uncharacteristically warm, so Jim and I spent several hours Swedish death cleaning the attic. By the light of a single bare bulb, we sorted through boxes filled with pictures, old holiday ornaments, toys, vinyl albums, and stacks of outdated magazines. I looked through binders stuffed with years of lesson plans and overhead transparencies. I sorted through laminated posters that I had hung in my classrooms.
We lowered box after box down into the garage and divided the piles slated for donations, trash, and recycling.
I washed and dried a box full of glass jars, canisters, candle holders, and knickknacks before loading them into my car, along with a couple of lamps, decorative items, and a mesh bag filled with yoga blocks and headed to the nearest Goodwill.
We loaded Jim’s truck with the trash and recycling.
By the end of the day, our clothes were dusty, we were sweaty and tired, and I even found a few desiccated stink bugs in my hair, but it felt good to clear out what we no longer needed—to sweep away the dust and debris, to clean out the clutter and make more room to breathe.
I’m glad we made the most of our warm weather opportunity. A storm front and arctic blast moved across our state the following day, bringing temperatures down into the teens.
***
Today is the last day of December, and I am enjoying that part of my winter break where I don’t know what day it is—or what time it is. I enjoy the long stretch of unstructured and unscheduled time before the New Year begins. Time falls away, and I have the space to read, think, listen to music, create malas, take naps, and practice.
The pressure cooker lead up to the holidays has fizzled out, and I am enjoying the quiet before the frenzy of the upcoming semester.
Having time to rest and recharge is essential, and I find that I really enjoy my meditation practice much more when I’m not as stressed or overscheduled.
***
I have enjoyed creating new mala designs for the website during the break, too. One of the designs, Jazz Inspired Mala, was the result of productive procrastination…and music.
One of my friends is a jazz musician, and he gave me his most recent CD, which is a collaboration that he and two other musicians recorded. I had originally planned to listen to it while sweeping and mopping the living room floor. We had put away the tree and Christmas decorations, and glitter was everywhere!
Instead, I listened while sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes of beads and my work tray, and created a layout design for the website.
It was an engaging and peaceful way to start the morning. I enjoyed listening to my friend’s music, and this mala-in-progress was a playful response to the jazzy rhythms and improvisational call.
I’ve recently added this mala to the website, along with a few additional designs. Be sure to have a look while you’re here.
***
I hope you find joy and peace this winter season, and I hope you savor many moments of creativity, belonging, love, and meaningful connection.
May you be happy and well, may you balance work and rest with ease and grace, and may your own personal practice inspire, support, and sustain you throughout 2026.
Take care of yourself…and those around you—see you next year!
27 Beads: Even More Benefits of Quarter Malas January 30, 2024 20:14
(Image: Quartz Quarter Mala with disco ball guru and dove gray sutra/tassel)
If you prefer to listen to this month's blog article, please click HERE for the audio link.
About eighteen months ago, I wrote a blog entitled “Less Is More: The Beauty and Benefits of Quarter Malas.” In it, I described a few practical benefits to using quarter malas.
Middle Moon Malas quarter malas include twenty-seven beads, plus a guru and tassel. These designs are hand-knotted, of course, and crafted with high-quality gemstones, just like the full malas I create. Lately, I have been creating quarter malas for an upcoming event in March. These little-but-mighty designs are very popular at in-person events, which is why I don’t typically add them to the online shop.
However, whenever I post photos of these mini-malas on Facebook or Instagram, people reach out and ask questions about them—and they want to know how they can purchase them, so I thought I’d go into more details about the benefits of quarter malas in this month’s offering, and encourage you to reach out if you’re interested in a design for yourself or a loved one.
(Image: Dzi Agate Quarter Mala with Picture Jasper, Dzi Agate, and Garnet beads with Dzi Agate guru and maroon sutra/tassel)
*Collaboration
One of my favorite aspects of creating mala designs is collaborating with clients. I love helping people curate malas that will support and enhance their own personal meditation and wellness practices. Quarter malas are ideal for this collaborative adventure because they are an affordable, low-pressure investment. Most of the quarter malas I create run between $40--$50, depending upon the beads that are in the designs. Also, because there are only 27 beads, it’s easier to explore and play with the colors, textures, and patterns of the beads as well as the colors for the sutra and tassel.
I will create layout designs and send photos to clients. Once they agree on their custom design, it doesn’t take long for me to create their one-of-a-kind quarter mala. It takes me a few days to create a full mala, but I can create a quarter mala in a few hours.
Recently, I had a client who requested a quarter mala for her beloved teacher. After listening to her and showing her photos of various beads, guru options, and sutra colors, we were able to collaborate and create a meaningful and thoughtful gift for someone very important to her.
Some clients are wanting a quarter mala for a specific practice or purpose. For example, I have made Lapis Lazuli quarter malas for Medicine Buddha recitations; Jade quarter malas for Tara sadhanas; Quartz Crystal quarter malas for Vajrasattva retreats.
Some clients have specific color or stone preferences—they want a purple quarter mala, or they really like Amethyst.
Not all of my quarter malas are custom designs. Sometimes, I like to play and experiment with textures, colors, shapes, and combinations of beads. If I really like the result, it may become the inspiration for a full mala design.
I recently created a quarter mala from Rhodochrosite and Cherry Quartz beads with a lovely pink lotus resin guru. This inspired the Pink Lotus Mala, a full mala that includes variations on a theme of these beads. This mala is currently available on the MMM online collection.
(Image: Pink Lotus Quarter Mala with Rhodochrosite and Cherry Quartz beads and pink lotus guru with variegated pink sutra/tassel)
*Connection
Collaborating with clients also gives me an opportunity to connect with others and share meaningful conversations. Recently, a client (and former student) reached out because she was interested in a Quartz quarter mala that I had posted on FB. Because she is local, we decided to meet at a nearby coffee shop to chat and catch up, and I was able to deliver her design in person.
It was great to hear about her family, about what she’s doing now, and how much she has evolved and grown since her high school days. She also had questions about how to use her quarter mala, and being able to describe that process in person was more relevant than simply directing her to watch a video or reel that I’d posted.
It’s also nice to support another local small business. We met at Mocha Nut, an independently owned coffee shop in Southport.
I typically attend a few in-person events each year as a vendor, and, usually, these events are a bit crowded and noisy. At these events, there’s not much time to interact one-on-one with customers in a quiet space, so it’s nice to have more time to chat with individual customers in person.
(Image: Red Rose Quarter Mala with Black and White Striped Agate, faceted Onyx, and matte Mother-of-Pearl beads with red rose guru and black/red variegated sutra/tassel)
*Commitment
Quarter malas are beautiful little reminders to practice, and they are intended to encourage practice. These quarter mala designs are not made to be worn on the wrist all day. I don’t use stretchy cord, and don’t make stretchy bracelets. My designs are hand-knotted, and the same cord that runs through all of the beads also secures the tassel. Everything is connected and interconnected, after all.
Because quarter malas are portable and don’t take up much space, they are ideal for travel. Also, because they are affordable, it’s possible to keep one at home, one in the car, and one at work. So, if you’ve made a commitment to meditate or recite mantras every day, strategically (and respectfully) placed quarter malas are meaningful reminders to practice.
Having the visual reminder of a quarter mala can be a comforting motivator. Whenever you have a few minutes to practice, or even when challenges arise, they are right there waiting to support you, helping you to stay grounded and focused.
I recently had a conversation with someone at work, and this conversation brought up anxious emotions for me. This particular individual tends to have very strong opinions, and often presents his opinions as if they were facts. Usually, I can let his comments slide, but this time, his remarks were jarring and triggering for me. I could feel the uneasy pull of an anxiety spiral forming in my gut.
I didn’t contradict, challenge, or argue with him. Instead, I sat at my desk, held my mala in my hand, and completed a brief breath practice.
First Bead: inhale
Pause
Next Bead: exhale
Pause
All the way around the mala.
It took just a few minutes to calm my anxious thoughts. It also helped me detach and not take his comments personally. I was able to let it go and move on.
(Image: Elephant Jasper Quarter Mala with gold metal textured guru and Autumn Harvest variegated sutra/tassel)
*****
I hope 2024 is treating you well so far! If you are interested in a Middle Moon Malas quarter mala, I would be happy to create a beautiful design that supports you and your practice. Just send me an email via the Contact Us page to begin.