Moving from metaphor to biology, winter dormancy is not inactivity but strategy. Many plants rely on cold exposure—vernalization—to trigger later flowering, and deciduous trees conserve resources by dropping leaves and slowing metabolic processes. Even animals that hibernate are not simply “off”; their bodies regulate temperature and energy use with remarkable precision.
Seen this way, winter is part of life’s engineering. The absence of visible growth can conceal essential preparation: storing, strengthening, waiting for conditions that make expansion viable. May’s crucible metaphor aligns with this ecological reality: the life cycle doesn’t stop in winter—it changes mode. [...]
