Tag: Winter

The Dusk of Autumn, The Dawn of Winter

Winning With Words

The changing of the season is underway and amidst the shifting dynamic of the Earth I find myself in a time of reflection in a climate much different from that which I inhabit most often. The warmth of the Yucatan beautifully contrasts the chill setting over my home in the Midwest of America, which is opening my eyes to the reality that our perspective is a small piece of the whole picture of the world we share. As the years keep flowing my mind is opening to the minutia of the experiences of my life, letting me marvel at the details and sit back to enjoy the bigger picture that the puzzle pieces form as they silently dance across the rug of time and space.

Fall was an interesting time for me, as it always is, being the time of my birth and therefore a time of contemplation on the cycles of my life and how they fit into the grander scheme of things. Many travels were taken both externally and internally, providing me with loads of new information to integrate into my consciousness. The puzzle pieces are laid out on the table and now I get to work on fitting them all together to see how they create an image of existence. The interesting fact is that there is no box in which these puzzles pieces are delivered, no reference as to the final image they will produce. The puzzles of our lives will never be complete from our own vantage point. All we can do is gather as many pieces as we can find and do our best to fit as many of them together as possible in the hopes that what we leave behind may make some sense or provide some beauty to those who are left to observe the pictures of our lives.

The season has me thinking on mortality and how it factors into my decision making. How does my understanding of the limitations of my physical existence direct the flow of my consciousness? The way I live my life? In light of the fact that we are all finite I find that it is best to enjoy the whole experience. The moments of ecstasy are just as precious at the moments of despair, as they all are necessary colors of the palate we use to paint portraits of the human experience. The more colors on the palate the richer the picture will turn out to be. Best not to shun away from any color due to those which we have utilized in the past. Take the good. Take the bad. Be grateful for it all.

The songs that are composing the soundtrack of my winter season are in the playlist linked below if you would like a glimpse into my auditory experience of the world over the course of these few months. Lots of diversity in this one which has been a theme over this whole year. May the changing of the season share with you the beauty of the world. Here’s to lots of finger wiggling and fancy attire in 2020!

Slowing Down ~ Reflections on the Winter Season

Soto's Fotos

As the Earth’s axis tilts away from the sun the cold winds begin to blow in frigid air with a subdued energy of hibernation and takes us on an internal journey across slippery, snow capped slopes. Within still days and serene nights winter holds great potential. This potential often flies over people’s heads as our way of life buffers them from the natural turning in process that the ecosystem goes through to a greater degree than we have been ever before in human history. All living creatures that live in a seasonal climate adjust themselves to the winter season but mankind has taken this to the extreme. This has put humanity at a disadvantage since the slow and deliberate way one must navigate the winter terrain holds much knowledge if one lets their mind adopt that same mode of operating.

There is immense value in the act of slowing down. The beautiful details of life come into focus when we slow our roll even just a little bit. There is a concept of yoga that says while practicing we take time to rest between poses to give the body time to recuperate and build up strength, which it is unable to do when it is in a state of exertion. This idea of slowing down to rest and recover is what winter is all about. A time for restoration and preparation. If used wisely the time of winter will be equally as enjoyable and productive as the days of summer but the key is using those winter months wisely. While winter is a time to slow down cabin fever does not give one an excuse to waste away the winter months. On the contrary the work one does when they slow down is often harder than work requiring physical action. How much easier do people find it to go to the gym than to sit quietly for thirty minutes and focus on the underlying discourses of their mind? Neither of these is easy for people but most would find a trip to the gym easier than a thirty minute mindfulness meditation.

This internal work is tough and tedious but it needs to be done if one hopes to live a balanced life. All the things that come into our worlds have their source in mind so to let our minds fall out of shape will lead our worlds to fall out of shape. The reverse is that if we see our world in a shape we do not like then the first step to take towards shaping up our world is shaping up our mind. All that we perceive is a reflection from our mind so we need to keep our mental mirrors clean to get clear reflections. The deep scratches in the mirrors of our minds take time to buff out so taking time to slow down and tend to the deeper mental wounds that we all possess in one form or another is key to maintaining a habitable mental space. This slowing down is a natural process and so many people are suffering in our age because we have lost touch with our natural cycle of slowing down with the Earth.

All the beautiful details that get lost in the dry dust under the summer sun can be admired in the winter for all their splendor. The immense comfort that one gets from a warm bowl of soup on a cold winter’s evening is easily compared to the relief of cold lake water after walking across a sun baked beach in the summer. The coziness we feel on a dark winter morning warm under a big blanket rivals the relaxation of a nap in a grassy field on a golden summer’s eve. The trick to appreciating the beauty of the winter is slowing down. Taking slow spoonfuls of soup to notice the steam swirling into the cool air. Stay in your toasty bed and listen to the wind blowing across your window for a few minutes in the morning. Take your time.

Life truly is beautiful all year so take the time needed to find all the little gems hidden in winter. Don’t go through winter without stopping to look at snowflakes. You will regret it come spring.