Tag Archives: winter

THINKING WARM, THINKING CLEAR

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So it was -32 C this morning – pretty cold by any standard!  But I did not feel it.  In my mind I was sitting out on the deck of ‘our’ chalet at Escape3Points by the ocean in Ghana.  I can hear the ocean and feel the balmy warmth of the morning.  I watched the birds looking for crumbs from our breakfast.  And not long after, the puppies came to visit.

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I’m marveling at the power of my mind.  It is not that these images in my mind help me ‘make it through’ the winter, for I truly love the season.  I love the whiteness/brightness of the snow.  I love the crispness of the cold winter air.  I feel my best on those cold, cold still January days when the sun is shining so bright and I’m purring in the warmth of my sun room.

Don’t get me wrong, though.  I get my share of cabin fever.  A long stretch of gloomy winter days does me in.  It makes me feel like I’m struggling, struggling and not getting anywhere.  But maybe that is just another cycle of life.  Wouldn’t it be boring if we’re happy and bubbly all the time?  Wouldn’t we look like a commercial for Pepsodent toothpaste or Spearmint gum with our shiny toothy smiles?  Oh, how bland!

There are difficult days in the heat of summer or on a tropical island, I am sure.  But I don’t think anyone dare whisper any hint of it.  Funny.  So, of course, it has made me feel worse when I get those terrible blues in the summer, when all was so perfect and everyone so happy….school was out and everyone was on vacation.  Hmmmm.  I know better now.  I see clearer now.

Now, I embrace whatever season that it is.  Each has its beauty.  Each has its faults.  I embrace wherever I am in the moment.  Like the seasons, each place has its own beauty and detractors.  Beauty and value are in the eyes of the beholder.  And drama exist everywhere, for we are the players.  I embrace all the times I’ve been in, for it is from these times that I learn and grow and love and live.

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ONE DOG A-LEAPING

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So today is the twelve day of January and it is cold outside, baby.  Seems like long ago that Sheba and I headed out to the park no matter what.  Today she is equally happy to languish with me in the warmth of the sun room.  I guess we are both getting soft with the years.

But isn’t it an awesome picture of her, so full of energy and happiness?  I KNOW that she is in my life for a reason….to lead the way when it is dark, to get me up when I’m down, to lean on when I am weak, and to love me when I feel forsaken.

We will head back to the park soon.  We will run and leap down by the river.  We will hear the crunch of snow beneath our feet and see the steam from our mouths.  But on this 12th day of January we are happy to languish and loll.

BEING HERE, BEING NOW

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IMG_4870It is especially difficult to be here and now in the heart of snow and winter.  Many of us are dreaming of those sunny beaches of Mexico and Cuba and those all inclusive holidays where the food and the liquor flow ever so freely.  Besides that, we are constantly distracted by the news and ‘the world out there’.  It is difficult to be at home with ourselves when we are always connected.

I had a gift yesterday.  I forgot my Iphone at home when I went to work.  I felt a little lost at first, but I told myself that it was not a bad thing.  It was not a disaster nor an emergency.  People can still find me if they need to.  My pocket felt a load lighter and so did my mind.  I was able to put my whole awareness and energy to the place and the people I was with.  It was awesome!  And at the end of the day, there was nothing lost and much gained.

I’m trying to build on the experience, but the mind is like a willful child.  It wants to go here and there.  It wants to turn on this gadget, that gadget, surf the world wide web, wasting time.  I am trying to be a patient and kind parent, bringing it back to focus.  Riding my exercise bike this morning, I try to keep pedaling the 15 minutes, seeing and registering the words I am reading at the same time.

My mind is running away on me even now as I am writing.  So I let it go.  I pause and it comes back.  And so it goes.  Practice makes better.  Small building blocks, one upon another, will make a strong foundation.

HEART OF WINTER

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We are in the heart of winter.  It is dark, dark outside.  My little Buddha is shivering in the snow.  Sunrise is not till 8:59, another hour yet.  Yesterday, the sun did not come out at all.

It would be so easy to hibernate like the bears, but duty and nature calls.  Sheba is quite insistent.  She KNOWS she is hungry and she’s not letting anyone sleep in.  You try to quiet your bladder, but after awhile you know you have to get up.  So you throw those covers back and step onto the cold floor.  And another day starts.

I’m not feeling up to snuff.  My eyes are gummed up and my mouth feels grainy and dry, like the Sahara Desert.  I am achy, throaty and tired.  Welcome back, SINUSITIS, my old friend.  Your ways are familiar to me now.  I can function quite well with you on my back even though you try your hardest to drag me down.

So, I’m not so speedy or quite as organized as usual.  Is there a race on and are we in a hurry?  Or is there an emergency?  It is good that there are seasons and times for everything….times to work and times to rest, times to speed and times to slow.  We all know how that song goes, but do we listen and hear it?

I’m feeling like hell now.  So I sit back, take my glasses off and rub my eyes.  I breathe and sip my tea.  Sheba is on her mat besides me.  Animals do absorb and ease our distress and discomfort by being with you and being just themselves.  Often we take them for granted  but they are always so happy to see us when we come back, even if we’ve gone for a few minutes.They accept us as we are.  There is no judgement.

I would do well if I could learn from Sheba’s ways….let people know I appreciate them, live in the moment, letting go of minutes, hours, days, years past, of things of little consequence.  Perhaps that’s her purpose…to keep reminding me of the excitement of life, to keep wagging my tail.  The sun will come again.   Ahh, there it is now, shining over my shoulder, lighting my world!   And I have done well in this heart of the winter.

Sometimes when there is no feeling good in your body or mind, you have to go back in your memories for those feelings and live as if.  That is what I did this morning, remembering the pleasure of the cup of hot chocolate, making soup, baking bread.  I remember my body opened up, seeing  Sheba running out to greet me when I came home from work Monday evening, tired and stressed.  Her wagging tail, smile and nuzzling work miracles in easing the tension in my being.

Everything does turn, turn, turn.  Nothing stays the same.  This, too, shall pass.  And for everything, there is a purpose under heaven.  Breakfast is done, dishes cleared and the dishwasher is turning and turning.