Rejoicing in the Seasons and Cycles

Whether you like winter or not, the view out of my window is a great argument why everyone should live in a place where they get to experience all four of the seasons. Yes, it's cold out, yes, you have to wear tons of clothes and yes, the green is replaced with nature's starkness. So okay, I love foliage as much as the next person, but there is beauty in the starkness of winter - reminding me of the European artist who uses nature to create his temporary, always changing "live" sculptures. He uses leaves, wood and stones most of which he finds on the ground. I remember watching him mold a sculpture from icicles, breaking them off and rehanging them on a rock, creating a symmetrical piece of art. His fingers were frozen from molding the ice as it took his body heat to melt the ends of the icicles, so that he could form and then reattach. My point being, there is beauty in everything nature isn't there.


Now back to the view out my window. Lake St. Clair is about 100 feet from the front of our cottage. There are 50 feet of lawn (soon to be dug up and covered with plants), then a small two lane road, followed by another 10 foot patch of grass. The yard is covered with a light dusting of snow. The trees are bare just like every other tree in the Midwest that isn't an evergreen or a bush. But the lake - wow! It is completely covered in ice. Not smooth ice that hockey players and figure skaters dream about, but due to the huge freighters that come through here until they can't anymore, it is piled up with sharp chunks that are poking every which way. It looks glacier-like and absolutely beautiful. If you enjoy standing outside in sub-zero temperatures, you can hear the ice cracking and moving due to the current underneath. It sort of sounds like a really good scary movie. The sounds and movement are a reminder that all things change and are cyclic. And I mean all things. There is a necessity for the cycles as I believe, it is the cycles that keep earth healthy. But not just earth since it should remind us that we too are part of this cycle.


Winter is a time to hibernate, reassess, take stock of our lives, eat root vegetables and stews. It is our down time to store fat, keep warm and if we are lucky, get cozy. A time to build fires, snuggle, read books, sew, cook, bake, write letters and plan the coming of spring. The winter is a reminder to do the things that feed the part of our soul that has to do with home.


I have never envied the people that chase the sun around trying to stay warm. I think it's ridiculous. Climbing into their RVs, with bicycles hanging on the back. I don't get it. If the sun is shining you feel compelled to be outside. When it is 90 degrees out, I am not going to stay indoors and read a book, cook stew and sew. These sunbirds are the losers for missing the migration of the geese, the fall of the first snow and the crunch of it when first walked on.


Each season has something to offer which gives me an opportunity to look forward to what it brings with it. The summer is for the garden, walks, boating, taking vacations and playing with the dog. The spring is for planning, preparing, cleansing and rejoicing. The fall is for celebration, harvesting, raking, canning and putting the garden to bed. Then, yes, we are getting ready for winter which will come all to soon, leaving us to complain while forgetting that it is a necessary down time that nature has prepared.


It is silly to sit around and complain about the weather when what we could be doing is seeing what gifts each season brings. Let us celebrate and rejoice in the fact that we are lucky enough to be a part of these beautiful cycles that God and nature have given us.