Tag Archives: winter

The Winter of Listening

THE WINTER OF LISTENING (by David Whyte)

“No one but me by the fire,
my hands burning
red in the palms while
the night wind carries
everything away outside.

All this petty worry
while the great cloak
of the sky grows dark
and intense
round every living thing.

What is precious
inside us does not
care to be known
by the mind
in ways that diminish
its presence.

What we strive for
in perfection
is not what turns us
into the lit angel
we desire.

What disturbs
and then nourishes
has everything
we need.

What we hate
in ourselves
is what we cannot know
in ourselves but
what is true to the pattern
does not need
to be explained.

Inside everyone
is a great shout of joy
waiting to be born…

And
here
in the tumult
of the night
I hear the walnut
above the child’s swing
swaying
its dark limbs
in the wind
and the snow now
come to
beat against my window
and somewhere
in this cold night
of wind and stars
the first whispered
opening of
those hidden
and invisible springs
that uncoil
in the still summer air
each yet
to be imagined
rose.”

-David Whyte

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strong, clear and powerful moon on snow at home.

Winter Wonderland

“we walk
hand in hand
the wind whipping
around us like
a kind of magic
shimmering off the branches
the trees laced with snow,
tiny dancers spring from the ground
like dust, tossed
here and there on
the wind …
spinning
twirling
swaying
to a song that only
they can hear
oh but how romantic
did they appear
And yes
how it moved me …
To each side of us,
shimmering towers of white
rose reaching for the sky
as if grasping for the hem
of heaven itself
And here
in this mystic place,
time seemed to slow
and the cold could
not touch our soul
nor pierce our hearts
Our hearts, which walked
between the towers of ice
and beat as one, unscathed
by icy spells or bewitched
by the beauty of this enchanting
forest, drifted away on a sea of
mesmerizing romantic possibilities
in our very own winter wonderland”
-Michael Traveler, “Winter Wonderland”

Scenes from Winter – A Gallery of Photos

“No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place”

-Zen Koan

Fence-Snow-Blues-Sunset-680x1024

“Snow was falling,
so much like stars
filling the dark trees
that one could easily imagine
its reason for being was nothing more
than prettiness.”

-Mary Oliver

“Let us love winter

for it is the

Spring of genius”

Pietro Aretino

 


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Deepening

The last day of February – already.  Our winter in northwest Montana came late… beautifully, powerfully and incessantly.  Deep cold and deep snow. Satisfying.  Waking to heavy snow showers this morning, knowing we’re transitioning soon, I’m absorbing it all.

I need this deep winter.

“I love the deep silence of the midwinter woods. It is a stillness you can rest your whole weight against… This stillness is so profound you are sure it will hold and last.”

-Florence Page Jaques

“So burrow in. Snuggle deep. A winter idyll of simple splendor awaits.”

-Sarah Ban Brea

 

 

Walk Slowly Into the Mystery

“It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens, makes
space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn’t a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I
forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I’m going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.”

-Danna Faulds

 

Winter Solstice

“We are approaching the threshold of winter.
Life is being drawn into the earth, painlessly descending down into the very heart of herself.
And we as natural human animals are being called to do the same, the pull to descend into our bodies, into sleep, darkness and the depths of our own inner caves continually tugging at our marrow.
But many find the descent into their own body a scary thing indeed, fearing the unmet emotions and past events that they have stored in the dark caves inside themselves, not wanting to face what they have so carefully and unkindly avoided.
This winter solstice time is no longer celebrated as it once was, with the understanding that this period of descent into our own darkness was so necessary in order to find our light. That true freedom comes from accepting with forgiveness and love what we have been through and vanquishing the hold it has on us, bringing the golden treasure back from the cave of our darker depths.
This is a time of rest and deep reflection, a time to wipe the slate clean as it were and clear out the old so you can walk into spring feeling ready to grow and skip without a dusty mountain on your back & chains around your ankles tied to the caves in your soul.
A time for the medicine of story, of fire, of nourishment and love.
A period of reconnecting, relearning & reclaiming of what this time means brings winter back to a time of kindness, love, rebirth, peace and unburdening instead of a time of dread, fear, depression and avoidance.
This modern culture teaches avoidance at a max at this time; alcohol, lights, shopping, overworking, over spending, bad food and consumerism.
And yet the natural tug to go inwards as nearly all creatures are doing is strong and people are left feeling as if there is something wrong with them, that winter is cruel and leaves them feeling abandoned and afraid. Whereas in actual fact winter is so kind, yes she points us in her quiet soft way towards our inner self, towards the darkness and potential death of what we were, but this journey if held with care is essential.
She is like a strong teacher that asks you to awaken your inner loving elder or therapist, holding yourself with awareness of forgiveness and allowing yourself to grieve, to cry, rage, laugh, & face what we need to face in order to be freed from the jagged bonds we wrapped around our hearts, in order to reach a place of healing & light without going into overwhelm.
Winter takes away the distractions, the noise and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire & light to our hearth.”

-Brigit Anna McNeill

“Winter is showing you that this is the time where you are the embryo in the womb, the seed in the darkness. This is the time where nature asks- what do you need to heal, to feel safe enough to become whole, to become who you deeply are.
What needs attending to so you can rest well in your body, what needs loving so you can grow well in the light that is to come.”

-Brigit Anna McNeill

“This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.”

-Margaret Atwood

I love this illustration by Jessica Boehman that accompanied Brigit Anna McNeill’s beautiful words on the wisdom of winter, found on her Facebook page.  The drawing by Jessica and the words by Brigit resonated deeply as our northwest Montana winter begins…