winter

Twenty-five or thirty years ago, I was helping my Dad plant his summer vegetable garden. I had just been to a psychology conference and was telling him about it. A topic at the conference was “transitions” and how it is best not to rush into something new but to be quiet for a while and slowly let the heart pull us in the new direction.

My Dad said, “Of course, it’s just like in the garden. It needs a rest in winter.”

And we need winter to rest and to turn inward. Finally, all the hubbub of getting ready for Christmas is finished.  Yesterday was the solstice and I am ready for the quiet of winter. The next few weeks will be filled with fires, good books, gentle conversations, and slowly new dreams for the coming year will emerge.

I was born in April and I love the spring. But I will enjoy it more, if I give myself some quiet now.

This piece is about winter and the gold that lingers beneath the soil ready to sprout again in the spring.