"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
but I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep."
Robert Frost
It is said that a bear hibernates in winter when food and water are scarce. By hibernating, they conserve their energy and strength so that they can put off having to search for food. I think I'd be okay with that. I'm all for conserving my energy and strength. I'm not so sure about the not eating part, though. But, seriously, what else is there to do in winter?
I like to think of winter as a time for my mind to hibernate. I like to give it a rest from all the planning, all the "shoulds," and let it just dream. I read lots and lots, both fiction and non-fiction. While I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions (which would probably all be broken by now anyway), I do like to set myself a subject to study, or something new to learn. Sometimes it's something physical like the time I took on the task of learning how to knit socks. Other times it's mental or spiritual, like reading books on forgiveness, patience, or discovering what I'm passionate about. On those few and special days when the sun is shinning, I like to curl up with my blanket and tea, and watch how the sunlight turns the snow into mounds of glittering diamonds. For all that people think there isn't anything to look at in winter, I can find beauty in the smallest things if I look hard enough, like the blue jay that creeps up on to my daughter's front porch to steal some of the dry cat food she puts out for the neighborhood strays. Or the call of a cardinal trying to find it's mate. There is something to learn, and something to see everywhere if we just take the time to look.
Today the sun is shinning brightly under a big, blue sky. It is a whole 20 degrees and the forecast is for 35 later today. After days of below zero temps and wind chills, this sounds like heaven. Perhaps I'll take myself outside to see what I can see, and learn what I can learn ... and be thankful for the gift of this time to do both.
And so it is.
