winter

What Winter Requires

Spirit of Life,
Great force of love that moves through all beings:

True winter has at last descended.
Its deep cold and scouring winds
purify our hearts
paring away all that is not essential.

Winter requires of us
that we move slowly
and pay attention.

In the silence after snow
we feel our breath
the beating of our heart
whether our belly is full or empty
whether our body is warm or cold
whether we have love or do not.

Only the essentials.

As winter goes on,
help us remain aware
of what is truly essential
and make every effort
to ensure all beings have it
for we do have love
in great abundance
and love requires that we share.

May it be so.

Blessed be.

The Organizing Technique of Snow

One snowflake, when it falls,
is insubstantial. It melts
the moment it touches the ground.

It is beautiful as it falls,
a unique structure
of crystalline water
so perfect that when we
magnify it to see
we nearly swoon
from sheer amazement.

And yet, by itself,
a snowflake melts
the moment it touches the ground.

Only if many snowflakes fall
and cool the earth
melting themselves in the process
can one snowflake
remain intact.

And then the next one,
and the next,
and the next,
until soon there are so many
that trees are bowed to the ground
and cars are crashing on the highway
and power lines are falling down
and humans must slow down
or die.

This is not the fault of the snow,
let us be clear.
It is just being itself.
We are the ones
who must accept reality
and change.

And if we do—
if we slow down,
and learn to pay attention—
snow offers itself to us for our joy.

O the beauty of it in the quiet wood,
and on the mountain slope,
and falling like feathers from the sky!
The joy of sliding fast downhill
with people we love all around us!

One snowflake, alone,
is insubstantial. It melts
the moment it touches the ground.
Massed together,
snow has weight, and power,
and brings all of our hurrying to a halt—
and then spins us around
until we are breathless,
and our faces are turned toward joy.

Let us take a lesson from the snow.

A Break in the Clouds

For weeks the rain has been falling
and the wind has been blowing
and everything has been coming apart.

We humans think we’re so smart:
we build roads along steep canyons,
houses in floodplains,
levees to hold rivers in place.

Then comes a winter like this one
and it

all

washes

away.

But yesterday, there were:

a break in the clouds
a frog outside the window
and buds on the dogwood on the slope.

Storm Damage

Spirit of Life, Mystery beyond Mystery:

A great storm has come
and blanketed the landscape with heavy snow.
Trees are bowed to the ground with the weight of it,
many limbs and trunks snapped completely off.

Winds that howled for days are now still,
and a hush lies over the frozen ground.
People go out to check the damage.

How often in life do great storms come,
breaking our familiar structures apart,
leaving our hearts hushed,
and littered with debris?

But then comes someone to help.
We make our way toward one another
through the frozen silence.
We take hands and survey the damage.

Together we begin to clean up.
Together we begin to make something new.

May it be so.
Blessed be.

Winter Prayer

Spirit of Life,
Source and Sustainer of all:

True winter is now here.
Snow has fallen on the town and the forests,
and the cold becomes ever deeper.

Small trees and shrubs are bowed
by the weight of snow.
They are bowed, but they do not break.
They flex and they bend.

They flex and they bend,
and they hold the snow in beautiful shapes,
and in this way they survive.

Spirit of life,
when change comes,
when we are asked to hold more
than we think we can bear,
may we learn to flex and bend.

May we have faith that we can go on
for at least a little longer.
May we see the beauty of our new shape.

Blessed be.

Deepening Cold and Frantic Motion

Spirit of Life, Source and Sustainer of all,

The water of lakes now begins to freeze
around the edges.
Snow showers fall in great veils
between sky and horizon.
Snowflakes swirl madly,
tossed in currents of freezing air.
People rush from place to place
in a frenzy of holiday preparations.

In this time of deepening cold and frantic motion,
let us take a moment now and then to be still.
Let us find our calm center.
Let us take a breath, into our belly,
and let it out.
And another, in, and out.
And one more, in, and out.

As we find that calm center
let us become aware of our hearts,
these hearts that can feel so much:
love, joy, sorrow, pain, anger, fear. Love.

May our hearts be warmed
by each other’s presence.
May our hearts be strengthened
by this good company.
May love abound here,
and may we share this abundance of love
with all whom we meet.

Spirit of life and of love,
we thank you for our lives.

Blessed be.

What Winter Requires

Spirit of Life,
Great force of love that moves through all beings:

True winter has at last descended.
Its deep cold and scouring winds
purify our hearts
as they pare away all that is not essential.

Winter requires of us that we move slowly
and pay attention.

In the woods the profound silence
lets us feel our breath
the beating of our heart
whether our belly is full or empty
whether our body is warm or cold
whether we love or do not love.

Only the essentials.

Winter also teaches us about beauty and power.

In the deep cold we can see each single snowflake,
heaped with others.
Each is different from all the rest, and beautiful–
and yet how beautiful they are together,
and how powerful.

Let us keep these gifts close to our hearts:
Deep awareness of what is essential.
Deep knowing of the beauty of each
and the beauty and power of all.

Blessed be.