My first snow...Since LA

Hello there,

Long time no talk! I felt compelled to write this morning. Probably because it's snowing. Or it's freaking cold. And that feels like change to me. Change inspires creativity because it reminds us of the unknown - the great mystery! Will we survive the winter? Hot damn, if I don't turn my heat on, I won't!

It snowed a lot yesterday. And I had the pleasure of walking into a theater production in the rain and walking out at 9:30pm into a Winter Wonderland. The landscape had completely changed in a little over an hour. I had taken public transportation, so had quite a long walk in the snow on either end of my journey.

It was wonderful. It was completely magical. The light from the streetlamps and storefronts seemed to illuminate the snow - as if perfect snow covered limbs had a spotlight on them. I felt like God was saying, "look over there! Now over here!"

The air was so crisp and fresh and the snowflakes kept falling into my mouth and on my eyelashes.

It felt like falling in love.
  
It also really hammered it into my body and soul that I'm not in "Kansas" anymore! Moving from Los Angeles to Boston in the summer was a really good idea! Because I got to ease my way into this place. New England is a whole different country, it seems like! And I had forgotten what the winter feels like.

As the weather turns cooler and the leaves start to fall, it's like our internal clocks start to adjust. We retreat a little more. We feel the urge to conserve our energy for the long winter ahead. We sort of go into survival mode, and with that comes a more private, reflective demeanor. Maybe it's seasonal depression, but I think it's actually completely natural. New Englanders are often criticized by Sunny Californians for being a little cold, or stand offish. But it's not that. They're just conserving their energy!!! They're hibernating.

When it's cold, you snuggle up to the ones you love the most. Under the covers. And don't move. You stay closer to home. You conserve and replenish. And then when spring comes again - all the New Englanders bound outdoors in their shorts and sundresses and do it like bunnies.

It feels... natural. And healthy.

In southern California, you don't hibernate. You are actually constantly under the glaring inquisitor's lamp, THE SUN, which always seems to be asking you, "What are YOU doing today! Gotta get out and about!"Because it's so damn warm and bright all the time, you always feel a bit on display. There isn't a cloud to hide under. Or a cold day to cuddle up into and get some perspective.

I remember feeling as if I always should be grateful and 'taking advantage' of the beautiful day somehow!  It's wonderful...and exhausting.

Humans need seasons. We need a time to rest and a time run. We need to reap and sow. We need to go underground so to speak in the winter months so we can shoot up again in spring all green and shiny and new!

Or maybe just northerners do. But I'm a Yankee in my blood, and my internal clock seems to tick a bit more in sink with the New England weather. It just feels right.

Here's hoping for a White Christmas.




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