Winter Is Here Again

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." ― Anne Bradstreet

At midnight, as the clocks rolled over in bed to greet December 21, it arrived quietly and without fanfare. Most were asleep and did not hear as it crept into our new day. There would be no stopping this change, this constant reminder of nature.

Winter was officially here.

People awoke the next day sensing the change. It seemed much darker and that darkness lasted longer. One could feel the change but most were unsure of what the change had been. As the Sun fought to erase the darkness, we simply let the feeling pass.

Yet winter was finally here.

The holidays kept us busy and full of energy. There were gifts to wrap, meals to plan and a new year celebration to attend to. Our minds were kept occupied by other more important things. No one had time to think, much less concern themselves with the new season.

Winter had quietly taken hold.

Now the celebrations are over, the relatives gone home and we see the darkness of evening approach early. The snow has lost the virginal white of a new snowfall as the wear of foot and wheel leave their stain. Even the cold seems much sharper in it's bite of skin.

Yet winter remains his keep.

It is easy to allow the depressing gray of cold winter skies and darkness of long nights to grab hold of us. But each day becomes slightly longer as the Sun begins to retake its place. The promise of spring lingers more and more within our minds.

Winter will not overcome us.

Winter is rightfully here in its place among the seasons. A cycle in life that has, does and will always occur. Our own seasons will cycle like the winter into spring and summer. Changes in our life and circumstance will sneak in like winter and catch us with surprise.

Yet winter will not overcome us.

Stay inspired my friends!

Nature Decides

There is a harmony

In autumn, and a lustre in its sky,

Which through the summer is not heard or seen,

As if it could not be, as if it had not been!

- Percy Bysshe Shelley -

I am just not completely sure what happened to autumn this year.

And finally Winter, 

with its bitin',

whinin' wind, 

and all the land will be mantled with snow.

- Roy Bean -

And so it goes, the changing of seasons. 

Not upon our schedule but upon nature's.

Stay inspired my friends....and warm of course.

Winter Preparation

Photography for Collections

"Life has those down days, those 'winter days' of our lives. But even in the worst of times, there is good news." - Dean Sweetman

A large part of my life was spent in the northern climates of the United States as I was born on the plains of Nebraska. I even spent a few years in Fargo, North Dakota. And no, Fargo is not really like the movie with the same name. It is close, but not quite like that.

Each year after the last of autumn leaves fall to the ground, people become shocked by the decreasing temperatures. Just recently, the weather and news reports of the cold and snow made it seem as if the occurrence of winter was a big surprise. But winter comes pretty much like clock work each and every year. So I find it amusing that we are so surprised every time the Earth's northern hemisphere begins to tilt away from the Sun.

I will agree that winter can be very brutal in terms of the sheer cold and wind we have to endure. But winter has purpose in the cycle of nature and our lives. Even in the worst of winter, life proceeds daily and you plod through it knowing we can not simply withdraw from the world.

What always makes this time of year easier is knowing that spring will eventually come. During these winter days, there will be days of sun shine on even the coldest of days to brighten your life. And the thought of summer will creep into your thoughts; wow, what a great season summer will be when it arrives.

The progression of seasons happen in step with our lives.

Just like the seasons, our own life will have 'days of winter' when nothing seems to be going our way. It is during those moments that we have to fight the urge to crawl into a small space and disappear. Hiding from life is merely a misguided hope that our troubles and pain will go away. You know as well as I do that doing so will never solve anything. You have to confront and deal with those things that cause us pain and discomfort.

The good news is that even in the depth of our winter, we can draw warmth and comfort from the light. You can draw strength from your religious beliefs or from what ever form of faith or belief system you use. You can view the light as a reminder that spring will return and flowers will bloom, leaves will cover the trees and renewed hope will fill your life.

Things will improve and you have the strength to overcome anything.

When you build a belief in yourself and in others, the winter of reflection and worry will melt away with the gathering light. You will succeed and those 'winter days' will give way to a greater day.

Stay warm and stay inspired my friends!

Blow Thou Winter Wind

“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” ―Steve Maraboli

Only a few more days left in this year and for those in the northern hemisphere, winter's cold wind blows with a cold fierceness. It is a time when emotions can get the better of us. The lamentations of another year gone by can consume our thoughts of perceived failures.

It is easy to sit and question the wrongs we feel others may have exacted upon us. We can let past wrongs consume our future as the cold wind howls outside. Thoughts of how thankless and false love and friendship can be will creep into our minds. It seems as if all life is made up of human ingratitude.

We pull our coats tight in order to fight the winter winds. But the idea that people can be thankless is worse than the harshness of that same winter wind. We allow these thoughts to take over and debilitate us.

What should never be forgotten is that life is worth living. One should move forward, be happy, forgive and forget the failings of others. Forgive your own failings.

Shift your thinking and your world will shift for the better.

Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
by William Shakespeare

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
Thou dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remember'd not.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.

Stay inspired my friends!

Seasons of Life

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." -Hal Borland

It started on March 20 at 1:14 A.M. U.S. EDT when most of us were sleeping soundly in our beds. Quietly the season passed from winter into spring, or so it seemed. This particular year it seemed as though the clocks were busting to jump forward into spring.

Winter was hardly an event in most places, with the exception of central Europe. I can attest to some of what happened there. But for most, winter just didn't hold our attention too much. The spring weather just couldn't be contained.

Anticipate Great Things

Through the course of winter and spring, we know that we have no control over the weather. No more can we cause a wintry blast of cold and snow than cause the flowers to pop in wondrous colors. All we can do is accept and take enjoyment from what is presented to us.

I myself am no fan of winter's cold and snow. For so many years growing up, the shoveling of snow, the donning of heavy coats; none of that appealed to me. I always anticipated the arrival of spring, sometimes excited only to have winter sneak in a last blizzard of snow and cold.

The one redeeming thing is that I always knew that this too would pass. Whatever the weather, season or situation, things would eventually change. It happens with everything because you can not contain change.

Seasons of Life

We have seasons in our own lives that mimic your own view of the seasons. Winter can be unfairly seen as the darkest and most lifeless time of life. For others it is full of magical beauty. Spring becomes the start of new life and hope.

I could make a case for the summer of our lives or even my favorite season which is autumn. All four seasons are nature's cycle of life and we are tied to nature. So it stands to reason that we will go through seasons in our own lives. There will be the good, the bad, renewed hope and the shedding of the old.

While we can not always control the seasons that occur in our life, we can control how we respond to them. For winter's cold embrace, I marveled at the moonlit nights shimmering across the snow. For spring it is the budding of the barren trees as they filled in to shade the ground below. Summer is life in perfect motion and autumn with its bursting colors even while dying leaves drifted slowly to the ground.

You have the ability to control your own reaction and attitude to the seasons in your life. While we may not enjoy the bad things that happen to us, we can take solace in what beauty does exist in the situation. We can hold hope that a springtime will happen. We can know that a perfect summer will once again return.

Stay inspired my friends and enjoy the seasons of your life.

Winter Imagination

"The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination." ~Terri Guillemets

Winter can be depressing at times. The constant cold wind and snow blanketing the landscape are reminders of its grip on us. In some areas the dull brown fields and bare trees give us a sense that life has opted not to try anymore.

All of this can lead to a feeling of hopelessness. Really kind of depressing isn't it?

But life has not given up, life is in repose, dreaming of the spring which lay ahead. Life itself has an imagination and is planning the wonders that will bud forth in a few months. The flowers, the green grass, and the shade of new leaves exploding forth signaling a new season.

You can take this winter time to dream and imagine of the spring. A new season in your life full of excitement and change. The winter season will allow you to rest and imagine a new and greater season.

When you bud forth into a changed life, your best life, the winter time will have seemed very worthwhile. It can change your life if you allow it to spur your imagination of greater things.