The Gift of Winter: Rest and Reflection

As I sit before the window on yet another snowy day, I realize that I have harbored too much detest for this year’s inclement weather. Today I found myself focusing more on gratitude instead of resentment. Hurricanes, arctic blasts, blizzards, floods… my family and I have been the fortunate ones during all of these climatic adventures, but it has served a healthy dose of stress, anxiety, and obstacles. However, these hardships, like the weather, and life, are but moments in time…always moving, always changing.

There are certain things in life that we have no control over, I have said this in past posts, but now and then I am reminded of this fact. Other peoples opinions, actions, and reactions are not mine to control. Health, can be monitored, but there are some things that I simply cannot prevent. Blizzards, hurricanes, forest fires….nothing I can stop, despite well-laid plans. Aging, death, certainly can’t control those. Even love feels a bit beyond our control because no matter how much you guard your heart, someone or something will cause you to love…it’s unavoidable. But just because we can’t control something doesn’t mean it gets to control us.

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This winter I did not view the snow as a moment of peace and calm that washes over the world and provides a moment of rest. Instead I looked at it like the enemy, ruining my plans, making travel and work difficult, and creating unnecessary stress. But it was not the snow’s fault that I was stressed, it was my own unrest that caused me to feel anxious. Like the season, I am in a stage of winter, my life feels dormant, my spirit needing a long rest. Winter provides these moments of calm, allows us to slow down a bit, and to just be still. All too often we fight nature, bending it to our will, pushing ourselves to ignore the signs in order to keep up with societal and social demands, as well as our own expectations. We forget that we are finite beings, in need of rest, of sleep, of quiet. Winter provides us with this. My minor cold and feelings of being overwhelmed were eased by a simple day of being allowed to stay home and nap. It’s the simple things that make the big difference.

And then comes spring, a time to feel alive, rejuvenated, ideal. New life is breathed into the world and into us. I see birds, and even my cats getting excited about sunny days, and I should too. I should see these breaks from the clouds not as opportunities to work, but as a reminder that brighter days are always just a slumber away. Life is about celebrating every season that you are in, discovering new wonders every day, and acknowledging that not everything is meant for us to control.

My goal for this spring, for each season, is to look to nature as my spiritual guidance so that I do not ignore what I need. Cats bask in the sunshine, and so should I. Birds sing with the excitement of a new day, and so should I. Bears nap in winter….and so should I.

"To everything...
there is a season...
and a time for every purpose..."
~The Byrds