The Dead of Winter is Alive & Well
February 22, 2010 10:39
" Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps
a singing bird will come." - Chinese Proverb
A mist fills the morning landscape, lending a quiet mystery and restful beauty to my view. Like a downy blanket, it feels warm over the snow and wet ground. A single singing bird visits in the snowy landscape to remind me he is here. He sings because this is his dharma. He sings in advance of warm days to come. It all is a playful tease, hinting at spring, which remains, nonetheless, many weeks away.
By February, so many are tired of the cold, the snow, the grey days and heavy clothes. But I love my snow boots. I love the feel of cashmere and fleece. But realizing today that spring being six weeks away, reminds me to relax and enjoy the final days of winter.
It is easy to dismiss the end of winter... good riddance, right? Yet, I write this morning to remind myself to appreciate the sheer beauty that the natural world offers us in winter. To take comfort in the blanket of snow that holds the seedlings captive, the crocus dormant and all of green life, patiently waiting to burst forth when it can. This is the quiet time, the regenerative time, the time of stillness. A time to marvel how the squirrel digs his nuts he buried 6 months ago... to observe how the icicles grow, making marvelous sculptures. Yes, the harshness of winter may wear us down, but not if we use the time wisely... like nature... being dormant, being quiet, yet preparing for the energetic period of spring. Beauty exists all around us at every moment. It just is there -here - waiting to be seen... almost yearning to be noticed.
a singing bird will come." - Chinese Proverb
A mist fills the morning landscape, lending a quiet mystery and restful beauty to my view. Like a downy blanket, it feels warm over the snow and wet ground. A single singing bird visits in the snowy landscape to remind me he is here. He sings because this is his dharma. He sings in advance of warm days to come. It all is a playful tease, hinting at spring, which remains, nonetheless, many weeks away.
By February, so many are tired of the cold, the snow, the grey days and heavy clothes. But I love my snow boots. I love the feel of cashmere and fleece. But realizing today that spring being six weeks away, reminds me to relax and enjoy the final days of winter.
It is easy to dismiss the end of winter... good riddance, right? Yet, I write this morning to remind myself to appreciate the sheer beauty that the natural world offers us in winter. To take comfort in the blanket of snow that holds the seedlings captive, the crocus dormant and all of green life, patiently waiting to burst forth when it can. This is the quiet time, the regenerative time, the time of stillness. A time to marvel how the squirrel digs his nuts he buried 6 months ago... to observe how the icicles grow, making marvelous sculptures. Yes, the harshness of winter may wear us down, but not if we use the time wisely... like nature... being dormant, being quiet, yet preparing for the energetic period of spring. Beauty exists all around us at every moment. It just is there -here - waiting to be seen... almost yearning to be noticed.