It really is about changing your mind, about deciding that Winter is not going to bother you. Actually, it’s about going even farther than that and allowing Winter to delight us. I don’t mean people with SAD… I understand that your malady is real. (change those light bulbs, get out and walk.) I mean those of us who sit around in our cotton tee shirts and complain about the cold.

We have to dress for it. Hats, mittens, coats, long underwear. Boots that are not just fashionable but functional. (It was interesting looking at my Swedish sister’s boots. They had thick soles to keep your feet off the cold pavement.) Yes, it’s cold. Yes, it’s sloppy.

Winter has an important job in the cycle of life. It holds all the mystery and the time of looking within. Can we draw a correlation between the soles of our boots’ not being thick enough and the fact that we have no time to examine the state of our souls?

But there’s also something about being satisfied with what we have, with changing what can be changed. We can’t change winter (well, yes global climate change is changing winter, but we can’t wish the cold and damp away.) So let’s explore it. We can change or at least impact the numbers of people who are at the mercy of winter. so let’s consider that. Let’s step up, in our thick-soled boots, to the very sensitive and painful problems.

Peace is pretty concrete these days. Enough to eat. A warm place to sleep. Healthcare when you need it. Peace in the Winter.