New Snow

There is a unique excitement to a new snow

A breathe in and out

A pause

And invitation or an excuse

An opportunity to stay in, to not disrupt the process of nature

A call to, at least for a moment, make as little of a mark on the world as possible

Snow is nature’s way of reminding us that we are human

Reminds us that beauty can come without any of our own effort

It can be enjoyed

Not just manufactured

Because the world challenges you to always be in the sunlight

In the spotlight

To see and be seen

To change the world one footprint at a time

And snow asks you to not make a footprint

To not mar the beauty of an unblemished snowfall

We can sit in our home under a blanket and the world keeps turning

The snow keeps falling

We live for the harvest seasons

Of sun and fruit and accomplishing

And yet

At even a dusting of snow our souls ask

“Can we stay in?”

Can we stop our moving and shaking

Our climbing, proving

Can I just be?

The snow whispers an invitation that we won’t allow ourselves

To put aside the doing

And lean into the being

Because the snow will melt

And the world will wake up again

There will be things to do and tasks to finish

But we drink in the snow for a moment

We hide away from the world that asks so much of us

We escape its demands under that white blanket of snow

And we breathe

We remember who we are

Not who we have forced ourselves to be

We sometimes pray that the snow will never stop

So that we don’t have to go out into that world again

But there is beauty to sunshine

We can love the snow

Even as we thrive in the summer seasons

Because in the pausing

We renew ourselves for the doing

But sit for a moment longer

Breathe deep

Remember