We move through the year knowing that as much as we might not want it, winter comes again, and must. It is the time of lull and hush and stillness save when storms are raging. It is an imposition of quiet on our otherwise hurried lives. We endure the storms of winter, knowing they bring the verdant green of spring. And the still times cause us to pause and reflect, to turn within to apprehend the hidden riches that elude us in an exterior landscape that appears barren.
Winter is paradox. Evidence of storms and destruction loom on our television sets and in our communities. We hunker down in winter. Yet, there is also the time between storms when everything is more at rest than at any other time of year. You can hear your shoes shushing through snow if you are in snow country. You hear the sound of raindrops, but the normal chatter of birds, animals, and children are few and far between.
In climates like ours in California, we need winter. We don’t get much rain at other times of year, so even when it comes in over-abundance, we are grateful for the gift of provisions that will once again support us through what appear to be the more lush and vibrant seasons.
Internally, winter may cause us to feel depressed or focused on issues that we don’t necessarily ponder at other times during the year. But winter...this time of paradox...is a gift on many levels, for from the seeming empty, there is something developing under the soil, and so with us. Spring will bring the sprouts of our new planting, even though evidence in winter says otherwise. The paradox of winter is part of life’s mystery, and its complexity is essential to nature and to us.