“That’s what winter is: an exercise in remembering how to still yourself then how to come pliantly back to life again.” ― Ali Smith, Winter
Winter’s story Winter is not something to be feared but admired for its still, still beauty. Because it’s where a world appears to hold its breath and sigh, carpeted as it is with deeply frozen potential teeming beneath darkened soil. Wet grasslands are rimed with frost, liquid drips from hedges and trees as if to say, “Look, look, don't you see?” Yet so often we turn our cold, cold faces to the wind, huddle into woolly scarves, stamp our fretful, impatient feet, like we can’t wait for spring or to get away. But then we might miss the invisible invitation hidden in mist, concealed in muffled greyness, skies laden with snow, perhaps, or in petrified puddles now become miniature skating rinks we risk our limbs on as we walk. We’re so dismissive of pared back trees losing their verdancy that we fail to grasp just how majestic, how starkly splendid they really are. A life isn’t only glorious in springtime or abundantly beautiful in summer, because our autumnal days and whitening wintry glaze all have their own story to tell, etched into each season, their own magic to whisper into our receptive souls if we decide to notice it. © joylenton

“It seems like everything sleeps in winter, but it’s really a time of renewal and reflection.” ― Elizabeth Camden, Until the Dawn
NOTE: If you need a bit of help to see the beauty of winter or fail to appreciate the invitation to soul stillness it provides, maybe the free pdf excerpt from my book ‘Embracing Hope’ will help to gently steer your thoughts in that direction. *Just click on the cover below to download it.* And if you would like to read more, then you’ll be pleased to know that the ‘Embracing Hope’ e-book is on special offer up to January 18th! xo 🙂 ❤
