C O L D
there’s only one true way to
E M B R A C E I T
. . .with W A R M T H
In the Southern Hemisphere, the night of lune 20 is the longest night of the year, marking the arrival of Winter. . .
W E L C O M I N G
The Cold
as a GIFT
is part of being ONE
with Nature
and all of it’s cycles. . .
E V E N
when
E S P E C I A L L Y
when it’s in
U S. . .
I’m one of those strange ones
that actually likes WINTER
letting everyone I know:
I CAN ALWAYS GET WARM, BUT I CAN’T ALWAYS GET OR STAY COOL
One of my most favorite authors is
John Updike
and in his essay, THE COLD
he tells us,
“COLD IS THE ABSENCE OF HEAT, AND YET IT FEELS LIKE A PRESENCE–A VIGOROUS HOSTILELY ACTIVE PRESENCE IN THE AIR…”
The ancients honored this rite of passage with ceremonies and celebrations. The Iroquois used to go to sleep early in the longest night, convinced that Mother Night reigned over the Earth and walked among people’s dreams to send them messages. At dawn, the tribe got together to exchange visions. The Incas celebrated Inti Raymi (Sun Festival): they received the first rays of the Solstice with open arms, throwing kisses at Apu Inti (Sun God). In Patagonia, the mapuche tribe still celebrate We Tripantu, or New Year, a festival of purification and gratitude for the renewal of life…
We are told
not so shyly
by Scientist and Ecologists:
We might have lost the pulse of so many vital cycles, we might have made a mess of them with our unconscious interventions, but we have never stopped being a part of them. Little by little, guided by some unerring voices, we rediscover, in Mary Oliver’s words our “place in the family of things.” Scientists speak of biophilia – the love of living things that beats even in the most relentless city-dweller, and they resort to biomimetics to learn from nature how to solve problems, even those we created by trying to thwart its plans.
C O L D and W A R M T H
The two meet in most unlikely
yet predictable ways
I N U S. . .
T H E T R U T H :
There is no BLINDNESS worse than that which keeps you from seeing THE LIGHT you Bring. . .
T H E T R U T H:
There’s always more WINTER in us than we’ll ever accept or Embrace. . .
T H E T R U T H:
There’s always more Warm Light in us than we’ll ever accept or Embrace. . .
T H E T R U T H:
T H E T R U T H:
We don’t have to be fully ILLUMINATED to SHINE. . .
T H E T R U T H:
W I N T E R
like any other season
has never lasted
for an ever
and the one that looms before us
and harshly at times
WITHIN US
won’t either. . .
The Cure for Winter
isn’t the coming of Spring
nor is it moving from one WARM location to another. . .
It’s E M B R A C I N G IT
with a Warmth you possess
and desperately needs
S H A R I N G
The Result:
W I N T E R
isn’t another Season
It’s Another REASON
to become
what we never could
WITHOUT IT:
W A R M E R. . .
B R I G H T E R. . .
and in some
beautifully
innocent
w a y
reaches within us
and takes us to
that small child
and the World of Blinkless
w o n d e r
where it’s always warmly lit
no matter what the temperature. . .
S E E
B E
F R E E
t h a t
in the Warm Cold
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