This is my 6th winter in South Carolina, and my 3rd ice storm. As I look at the wintry landscape outside, I scratch my head (in the figurative sense) and try to reconcile the weather with the state I live in. I'm no longer in Ohio, but it feels the same on this particular day.
Plans have been cancelled. A national speaker we were bringing in to present a seminar over the weekend has been rescheduled. Our trip downtown for dinner with friends has been postponed.
Yet I sense the hidden gifts that come with the icy roads. I hear quiet! No cars move down the street. Everyone is hunkered down in their homes. I sense life slowing down to a pace I don't often operate in: in the moment. We are blessed to have our heat and power on.
I find myself in a puttering mood. I sit on the floor in my bedroom and pull out journals from my nightstand to read about my life over the past 2 years, while a load of wash runs in the other room. I look in the pantry and find something to bake. I call neighbors and invite them over for an evening of wine and conversation around the fireplace.
The icy weather outside helps me chill out emotionally and mentally. I think to myself that it would be a good thing for me to show up more often like this on non-icy days too. Perhaps we humans could benefit from brief periods of "hibernation." Thanks to Mother Nature, I find my natural rhythm again.
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