Early Morning Amidst The Ice And Snow

In the dark hinge of winter when all seems frozen and lost, come with me to the place where the snow has blown away and even the bitter ice is thin upon the ground. 

There I will show you why no cause is ever truly lost; there, where the ground is rimed with winter's terrible icy triumph I will point and say to you, "life will overcome." In that moment when all seems darkest and lost, when even the sun has deserted the sky and the dead branches hold up a tarnished and starless dome over a dead and frozen world, in that very moment the wheel of life begins to turn again and its rampant green victory is assured. 

The crown and bitter chains of winter will be thrown down, broken, and Spring will come again. Come with me to the place where the tender shoots grow up from frozen earth, see with me the buds stirring on the branches and hear the glad song of the birds as the welcome the longer days. 

Be here with me and feel the wheel of life turning again all around you. The sun is making its return and its light lies heavy and warm on your face and eyelids when you turn them up to the sky. 

 Soon the ice and snow will be no more for another long and fertile summer. See the beauty that the cold can add to the world, then let it go.

The River In Winter

Shackled in ice, the river yet flows. In the absence of sun its vitality keeps it fluid. The river's perpetual motion drives it to the sea. Come to stand with me at the icy verge and see the hidden life of the trees and water, the reeds and grass beneath the snow. This is the sleeping night time of the forest and riverbank, the long winter's rest fueling the renewal of Spring. Here we can hear the water bubbling and flowing, the winter birds calling, the soft slumbering whisper of the trees as they rock in the wind. The clouds scud across the sky and like the phoenix go down in sunset flames to rise again from the night's dark ashes. Through the snow you can feel the steady pulse of the engine that drives all of life and lends the power to endure in freezing darkness until the sun returns again. Take its energy into yourself, let it rise through the soles of your feet, through the smell of the river water in your nostrils, from the music of the birds and trees in your ears. In this stillness at the dark edge of day, here in the trough of winter, feel the energy that drives the river water to the see filling and healing you, here by the river in winter.