Winter as a Restorative Balm

It is still deep winter here in February in Minnesota.

The ground is asleep under a blanket of white.

The sap is not yet rising in the trees. The birds are quieter, accept for the occasional woodpecker’s drum.

And the light remains soft, even though we gain minutes by the day.

There is a stillness in the natural world that’s easy to miss if we’re generally maintaining the same busy routines all year. Our focus has gone elsewhere, now that the major holidays of winter have passed. However…

Nature is recharging now.

Quietly.

Steadily.

Underneath the business of the world, a great gathering is happening. A quiet gathering of energy.

Its called, rest.

And recovery.

A fallowness. Like a pause so long that urgency dissolves and patience becomes trust.

The Earth does not rush from Autumn to Spring here in MN. The wisdom of this is that in just a few weeks Life will beckon and demand for Earth to burst forth with rising sap, and new buds- the first nourishment for fawns and nest builders.

Soon waterways will once again release their frozen grips into flow states to feed and nourish many. Land will soften with the melting snow and seeds and roots of all kids will stir to find the nourishment of soil and light. Lots to do, an ever growing list for our dear Mother.

But it’s not time for that yet- we’re in the balm of winter now.

So, Mother Earth is in the docking port.

Are you?