Winter is in full force here in Central New York and the entire Northeast. We are currently buried beneath about two feet of snow with more coming on at this very moment.  There are icicles frozen in mid-drip (more like waterfall) around the upper edge of our entire house; old farmhouse equals heat loss no matter how much we try to insulate.  Winter has covered not just the Earth, but also our souls with what appears to be deep stillness and quiet. Many folks living in Northern climates have a very difficult time emotionally surviving winter with the lack of sunlight and weather restrictions that leave many of us feeling isolated with what has been called "cabin fever". There are also the seasonal germs to combat whom actually seem to be thriving quite well this year. We definitely keep up on our vitamins D and C and try to eat less raw foods, but more root vegetables and stews to help keep our immune systems at their best.  The First Peoples in this region called this time of year "the starving times" as stored supplies would have been low now with very little wild food sources. They would have survived on any game that they could have found, pine needle tea and, at last resort, the inner bark of the pine could be eaten.

 

                                                         

 

While this time of year can be quite challenging in some ways, it is also perceived by many to be a time of great opportunity and growth holding the full potential of the coming year ahead.  What appears as a time of lifelessness and death is actually a grand illusion, as just beneath the snow life is forming and growing and being nourished and dancing and preparing. The seeds and cells of life at its' highest are right now at this very moment in deep and sacred contact with all that is, was and ever can be. I practice remembering this daily and have learned to enjoy many of Winter's great gifts.  I start out dreading the coming darkness and struggle to ride the flow of the transition from Summer and Fall activities and warmth to Winters cold and shortened days, but always end up wishing Winter would last a bit longer. I know it sounds crazy, but I am truly accustomed to the rhythm created by fire tending, hearth sweeping, wood carrying, sledding, cross-county skiing, cooking big meals, knitting, gathering indoors with good friends, etc. I am fed by the opportunity for deep rest and introspection that is rarely afforded during the busyness of  the other seasons.

 

                                     

This year Winters' lessons have penetrated my core bringing with it a great deal of grief and sorrow due to the death of a dear, dear friend.  As she has transitioned into the great mystery, those of us still on our Earth walk will miss her and remember her always.  The loss of a loved one can be very painful and difficult to process especially living in Western culture where death is denied and grief rarely given sufficient outlet and ritual.  We have been acculturated to carry on no matter what, move forward, keep busy and go back to work as soon as possible. There are and have been other ways in other cultures, but I have learned the most about death and grief from carefully observing and submersing myself in nature. Anyone who watches will see that death in nature is an inextricable force of life. In fact, there would be no life without death as there would be no light without darkness. What appears as Winter to us is merely the foreshadowing of every sprout, every flower, every tree, every garden, and every warm day to come. Life and death walk hand in hand, as do Winter, Summer, Spring and Fall.  I feel honored and humbled to be in the presence of this great and powerful life/death/life force, although there is so so much that I have yet to understand and much more that I am sure I never will.

 

MY WORST HABIT ~ RUMI

My worst habit is I get so tired of winter

I become a torture to those I'm with.

 

If you're not here, nothing grows.

I lack clarity. My words

tangle and knot up.

 

How to cure bad water? Send it back  to the river.

How to cure bad habits? Send me back to you.

 

When water gets caught in habitual whirlpools,

dig a way out through the bottom

to the ocean. There is a secret medicine

given only to those who hurt so hard

they can't hope.

 

The hopers would feel slighted if they knew.

 

Look as long as you can at the friend you love,

no matter whether that friend is moving away from you

or coming back toward you.~~~
 

 

 

 

Peace and love to you always Kelly.

Colette(Kelly) Louis January 27, 1968 - January 22, 2011