Sheets in the Wind! Ah, Summer Peace

There are things that belong to each season. I actually love the sharp scent of Winter, captured in a coat that’s been outdoors. I almost feel I can smell the starlight. And i love the scent of starlight.

In the same way I love sun-dried Summer sheets… or anything… all of outside captured in the threads and making your bed ready for summer dreams.

And looking at what is going on in my world, i need playful Summer dreams to give me hope and encouragement. Peace needs us to be as well and as happy as we can be.

If drying your sheets on the line helps you to Peace, then go for it! I often come down on the side of convenience… but… not always.

May April’s Beauty Bring April Peace

We are having glorious weather. Here in the Northeast we grumble our way through the dregs of Winter longing for Spring. (Unless like me you’re a person with pollen allergies!)

April starts and still it is cold and dreary. And still we whine.

And then it changes. It will still be capricious, no doubt, but it will be beautiful.

We need that Beauty in our world right now. We must be that Beauty in the world right now, because right now I worry our country is on the verge of starting wars on many fronts. Our people could be in danger. Other people could be in danger. We must be Peace. We, like April, must bring joy and Beauty… and spread it across the land and the world.

This Is Not Climate Peace

It’s hard not to be delighted when February brings beautiful weather. Unless, of course, you consider that this is still Winter. Or even if you’re Northern European Pagan, it’s only the very beginning of Early Spring. Which means some warming, but 60 degrees? No. Especially a week of it.

Extreme weather events are signs of climate change. We had yet another Winter without Winter.

I’m trying to figure out whether I should take the Winter tires off my car or wait until after I drive through the mountains in March. Because, it’s not unheard of to have big snows in March. And even with climate change, that will always be a discussion.

So by all means, enjoy the day. I’m going out for a walk now. But remember, it is not a sign of hope. If you don’t like living where there is winter: Central PA is not a great choice.

Peace is a very complicated and multilayered thing.

Don’t Rush Reflective Peace

Winter, as a season, has many purposes, but rest and reflection are among them.

I’m never done with sleeping in, but it seems that we can all do with as much reflection as we can cram in. Lots of breathing in and out. There’s so much we need to calm down about … and there’s gong to be so much more.

Why calm down? Because it’s a long journey. and we have to act with purpose and not in reaction.

So I’m staying with Winter, and carefully considering what seeds I can plant and actually nurture in the time ahead. I can’t do everything, neither can you. Let’s focus on doing what we can and sowing the seeds of Peace we can nurture.

Staying with Winter, giving Peace a chance.

The Peace of Short Days

I love the long night and the quiet whether starry or quiet. But I also love the short days.

Days like today when the air is crystalline and the skies are hard and distant and diamond bright. Days like yesterday when the skies are soft and cloudy and they come right down into the forest. Days when the mist dances frosty in the air. I like days when it snows, too, but we don’t seem to be having a lot of that.

People keep caroling that the light is coming back, but it’s so incremental so as not to be noticeable. Dwell in the dark a bit. Heal. Reflect. Get stronger. There’s a hard journey ahead. Let’s not go until we’re ready and by ready I mean prepared.

Everyone wants to be going, doing. There’s a time to take stock and to simply be.

Now is the time to be. Breathe in the Quiet. Breathe in the Peace. Breathe out your disappointments. Be in Peace.

Peace of Short Days with Lots to Do

The start to Winter Holidays were long cold nights when everyone was crowded together inside and no one went out but to hunt and care for the animals. And in days when the days were not about gifting and more about celebrating and dancing (ok, and probably drinking), the holidays were probably more fun.

However we got to lavish and wildly expensive gift giving, I’m not excited.

This year I’m scaling back. I say this who was always a lousy giver of gifts! I’m giving gifts to the kids and the adults are getting donations to important organizations that will change our world. And suddenly, I feel so much more generous. It makes me happy. It makes me feel useful.

It also lessens the amount of crazy running that I do. And who wouldn’t celebrate that? And truth be told, it shifts my sense of loss of family to a connection with the wider world. I have family, whom I adore and of whom I am fiercely proud and for whom I’m incredibly grateful. And now I have a world that I feel responsible to, as well.

The holidays are wonderful if we fill them up with people we love and fun events. They become less so when we stuff them with assignments. Whatever you ponder during your holy days, why not give yourselves some down time to do that. Mull some cranberry juice, or some wine, light some candles and settle in.

Peace is in the beauty, not the crazed running around. Find yourself a lovely slice of Peace and consider your world — all its beauty — and all the places you’re going to use your powers for good!

We’re needed. And so is the Peace we bring, in Winter’s lovely short days and beautiful long nights and all the rest of the year, too. Let’s Peace.

Snuggling Into Winter Peace

You really are supposed to get more sleep in winter. Our bodies are built to sleep when it’s dark.

Mine agrees with the sunlight. I force myself to go to bed earlier and I grumble if I can’t sleep later than usual.

It’s about repairing and filling up. We not only owe ourselves that, we owe our lives that. Rest and regeneration. Quiet times at home. Candlelight. Laughter. Peace.

Right, we have some Peace to make in the quiet. and Peace to plot about. Peace to dream about! Can’t dream without sleep!

The Peace of a Little of This in a Lot of That

There is always in the season that is coming a bit of the season that is leaving. And when we’re deep in the season that is, there will be whispers of the season on the rise.

lt’s the beauty of our world. And it’s the bane of human existence, which likes this or that, rather than this and that… but here we are. And Autumn still lingers, just a bit, lending its blessing to the days ahead. We’ll take that blessing and be grateful. Even as we anticipate an entirely other kind of beauty.

Peace, it’s always changing; always complex. Just like the seasons… Aren’t they all incredibly beautiful? Peace be with you, my friends.

Winter’s Peace of What Is

Look at those critters. One day they’re munching on grass; the next they’re hanging in the barn. Oh, they say, sleeting. I’ll stay inside and eat. Oh, they say, Look, there’s grass, I’ll eat that tasty treat.

Humans spend so much time railing against what is. That’s not what I wanted, we cry. Hello, weather! Hello, season. Hello, Life!

This is what we have. Dress appropriately. Eat winter foods. Move about getting on with life.

We can’t make Peace if we’re worrying about being in control of the uncontrollable. We make Peace with our attitudes and acceptances. Oh, this is who you are! Well, Peace. Some of it is that simple. When it’s not simple we have more work to do. Peace. Now.

Winter’s Wiles, Winter’s Peace

Every season, I think, well, this one’s the favorite. And I know, I always have trouble letting go of the outdoor swimming — but that’s not because the turning of the leaves doesn’t seduce my heart to gladness.

And you’d think, looking at these grey chilly days that I’d be whiny about the mix… but hey! Baby, it’s cold outside! and it’s Winter. And it’s beautiful.

If we’re complaining, we can’t see Winter’s Beauty. And then we miss Winter’s Peace. Why would we choose this? Why would we not admire? Why would we not Peace? Because Winter? Will be here either way. Let’s work with the Peace we have.

Sacred Village

Building a World of Peace, Village by Sacred Village.

Tag Archives: Winter