I trust that you are all having a wonderful mid-winter season and a happy holiday time. May your circumstances swiftly move you along to a peaceful, joyous and fulfilling new year !
Here in the northlands it is rather warm for December, giving the birds and other creatures a better chance for successful hunting and foraging. Yesterday evening, driving the short distance to our great inland sea, we noticed an abundance of deer out browsing in the fields of old corn stubble and shriveled alfalfa. Their grey-brown winter coats blended in perfectly with the shadowy colors of the dormant trees and grasses making them one with the landscape. Seeing the perfection of natures union and design, I wondered . . . Why is it that we humans have bought into the illusion that there is any sort of separation at all ? In nature it is so obvious that everything is related, connected . . . no division, no against-ness, just wheels within wheels, the great ever flowing cycle of birth, life and transformation . . .
The lake was grey and cold, its waters stirred into rough white-caps by the north-eastern wind. Along the shore we walked across a bank of egg sized pebbles, polished smooth by centuries of sand and waves. Kiva ran happily alongside, her dog feet making wolfish tracks as she explored every piece of driftwood and washed up treasure. Sometimes, if one looks carefully, bits of old sailing ships or leftovers from the lives of once thriving indigenous cultures can be seen and held in the hand. Again the mysterious and undeniable connectedness of all peoples, all things.
As we walked back, returning again to our small cozy home, its warmth of holiday cheer, and the savory smells of dinner in the oven, a feeling of deep appreciation and gratitude swept over us.
Maybe this is what winter time is really all about. . . Rest, reflection and a timeless regenerative wait for the coming of a new spring.
Blessings and Good Cheer, SvG