This white stuff has been in my yard since spring sprung officially on March 20. This morning there are yet another two inches. Incredible. Like the winter just does not want to leave go this year. Like it does not want to see the yards and hills and farms and well, EVERYTHING change into all the colors and energy and bountifulness that comes with Spring.
I hear a lot of people complaining. I have caught myself a couple of times with a huge sigh about to emerge because there are still boots and hats and cleaning off of cars and walking trepidaciously as as to not fall flat on one’s rump.
What it is doing, however, is keeping the quiet a little while longer. I have noticed that the birds are back, and they are certainly singing … but it is a quiet sort of song. And certainly there are no songs this morning as the snow pours from the sky.
Quiet. Winter is quiet. For those of us that experience a real , snowy type winter the blanket of white stuff acts as an immediate sound dampener. People stay inside more, the animals find places to hibernate or stay warm, I do not even hear much out of the neighbor’s dogs through the snowy months. Sure, there are play times in the snow, there are get-to-gethers and there are winter sports, but on the whole it is much quieter than the rest of the year.
A bit of a reminder I guess to just SLOW DOWN. A reminder to take time to LISTEN to not only the world around us but the people in our house and also the sounds that come from deep within ourselves. Allow ourselves to go silent. Turn off the music, the TV, the devices once in a while. Take the time to just be.
It is easier to do that when it is winter.
It is easier to close out the world, sit wrapped in a blanket and allow the mind to go blank … giving permission to the Divine that dwells within to have a conversation with us.
So often even that conversation is a loud one. We do all the talking and complaining and wishing and spouting off wants and intentions and whys and what ifs.
How often do we take the time to JUST LISTEN.
Seems fitting that the snow is hanging around during the week before Easter this year. Certainly one of the few times that many churches insist on a little silence. Especially those who have services all week of different themes building up to Easter Sunday. You do not have to be a part of one of Christian Traditions that do have services all week, or even of a Christian tradition at all to appreciate that God does indeed dwell in all of us and would like to spend some time with us … in the silence.
Scary as silence may be — and it does take us a bit of practice.
Yeah, the snow is driving me a little crazy. I want greenery, I want to play in the dirt, I want to take the kids to the park while I do my running/walking and sometimes even meditating. But I will savor the last moments of natures silence in the beauty of a white covering for a few more days. Reminding me be still sometimes, reminding me patience.
Be Well.