Thinking about RESILIENCE

Snow By Frederick Seidel
 

Snow is what it does.

It falls and it stays and it goes.

It melts and it is here somewhere.

We all will get there.
 

Where I live, snow falls at this time of the year. Some days and nights, the snow is light, barely there, staying just at the tip of blades of grass or lying thin in a triangle on the sidewalk. At other times, snow is a blizzard, blanketing every street, every rooftop and building. On those occasions, the snowfall is mighty and unbounded; it makes things very difficult. I adjust my expectations, change my pace, loosen my complaints and eventually it melts. The difficulties of the snowfall diminish.

It may be a difficult time for many of us. Personally. Socially. Politically. Economically. Spiritually. There is so much to be blanketed by today, I think. Letting myself feel the depths of difficulty, dismay, or confusion is necessary; it falls, and it stays, and then later, it goes. This month, what I hope for all of us is a willingness to maintain collective movement forward, to support each other with compassion, listening, open dialogue and actions that help us melt and get there.

Gayle (originally January 2024)