"Don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter.
It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous..."
--Rumi
As the year draws to a close, I reflect that it's been, as Mark Twain put it, "One damned thing after another." Some good, some not-so-good, some most excellent, some terror-inducing. Whatever is happening, however, I remember the mantra, “This too shall
pass!”
Life sometimes sideswipes us with occasions for rejoicing
or unspeakable tragedy, but hard times run in cycles. It’s important to find
ways of reminding ourselves of this rhythmic nature. Outward-facing periods of
great vigor and challenge are followed by periods of apparent stagnation. These
fallow times can feel like the pits of despair when nothing seems to be
changing (except for the worse) and no matter how hard we engage with the
problems in our lives, we seem to make no discernible progress. Winter is never going to end; all our senses
convince us of it. We are never going
to find “the one,” or sell that first story. And we’ve heard enough tales of
folks who actually never do find a partner or make a sale that we are sure we
belong in that group. As the days shorten and snow or rain turns into mud, we
become even more certain the sun will never return.
That’s when I need black belt survival tools. My mantra
(above) is one of them. Here are some others that work for me.
- Every day, I speak with someone who loves me.
- I try to do a daily act of kindness in a way that I will not be found out.
- I try to begin each day with trust and end it with gratitude. These can take whatever form seems good to me on that day.
What helps get you through winter blues?
Painting by David Cox (1783-1859)
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