Fears and Tears

There is a beauty of ordinary time, the everyday simple joys to notice all around. The quiet night during a snow storm bundled up under a blanket, listening to the wind brush across the windows. The comfort of a meal enjoyed with a loved one while listening to their hearts desire. The cleaning and organizing of one’s house discovering life is better with less.

The joy of a winter walk when the snow is frozen and crunches under your steps, while the crisp air kisses your face. The frost that clings to the tree branches and glistens in the sunshine as if sprinkled with glitter. A waterfall frozen as if time has stopped, a river still flowing making its way through the ice that has formed. The trumpeter swan that flies high in the sky on a sunny winter’s day, with their special sound that beckons my gaze upwards. A red cardinal nestled in the snow, a brilliant contrast to behold.

“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.” Aristotle

The time spent watching a heartfelt movie that makes you feel sad and happy at the same time, the mystery novel that pulls you in and makes the gray winter seem not so bad after all.  Sitting by the fireplace watching the flames change color in a silence that brings peace to the heart.

These are winter thoughts that seem ordinary but when noticed become extraordinary. When you see joy all around even in the cold and blustery winter. When not a moment is wasted wishing for spring because winter is a lovely time.

“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year.” Thomas Wentworth Higginson