Slow Down-Pay Attention

Just as Winter Insists

Snow!!!  And lots of it!
 
We snow lovers have been waiting
with varying degrees of patience…or not.
 
But the skies have opened.
Winter finally decided to decorate.
She woke from her long slumber
and brushed the snow from her den.
 
Flakes came down with steady swirling grace,
crystal upon crystal, until there were inches.
And more inches.  And she’s not finished yet.
 
Deep drifts cover everything
burying small trees completely
making it hard to know where to put it all
as we work to clear paths, roads, walkways.
 
I know what some of you are going to say…
 
And admittedly,
it’s a pain to drive and slip atop all this glory.
Accidents have happened.
Backs are sore from shoveling.
Some among us have slipped and fallen.
 
And yet…
Can you think of a more stunning way to get our attention?
To insist we slow down?
To make very clear that each step is important?
 
And to remind us that this world, still, can be a glorious playground.
To roll and stack, or pack, throw, and dive.
To slide down or across
and maybe most especially with sled dogs?
 
This northern climate offers itself to our Wild sides.
Asking us to hold fast to the beauty and the mystery.
Beckoning us to do the work to protect it.
Because of course it’s worth it.
Because, among many other things,
we are intricately and inexorably connected to all of it.
 
And yes, it’s overwhelming at times
and hard and difficult to know what to do with it all.
 
But we stand in this moment in time
–just as winter insists–
knowing we need to pay attention
to slow down
and to recognize the importance of the steps we are taking.

-Chris Heeter, The Wild Institute
https://thewildinstitute.com/

Her website is amazing.  She is from Minnesota.