We are now a little over a month into the winter season in our area. The weather has been traditional for a change with bitter cold temperatures, snow storms, and mixes of clear sunny and gray cloudy skies. The bitter cold has hampered our activities outside to some extent, but we’ve managed to alter our thought process and rearrange project priorities at home to keep things in perspective and moving. This has not been an easy task, however, we have come to view it as part of winter’s heart, offering us a different sense of purpose for both the season and our physical, mental, and spiritual development. We thought we would share a few highlights of our events and learnings in this week’s post.
“To be human is to seek to live well—to give our personal best to whatever craft and station we have been called to, and to life a life of dignity and graciousness. A life that is lived in that way is both joyful and useful, and makes some corner of the world better.” –Keith C. Burris
Theme of the Week: Heart Within Thee
Our theme of the week is one that grew as time and the days passed. It started off with a work schedule change for me that made attending church in person a bit of a challenge. Though I tried to make it to mass, the weather and events simply did not align. As a result, I ended up running at home on the treadmill while trying to block out the rest of the world for an hour of peace with God. We also had a heating issue going on, so running on the treadmill was a good way to stay warm in a quickly cooling house. The experience forced me to look within my heart, which can be uncomfortable at times for any person, for that is where the truth waits and asks us to meet it face to face.
I really wanted to run outdoors that morning, but conditions were less than stellar and I needed to stay safe between work shifts. So, I found myself glancing often out the window at the snow falling like rain and wondering a lot about my direction and purpose in life. Things were not bad by any means, but they were not great either. What was missing? Was anything really missing, or was my mind trying to outwit my heart? As the question flowed and the timer and miles on the treadmill ticked by, a few prospective answers came floating by. It was quite possible that the only thing wrong was my perspective. It may also have been possible that whatever was missing might simply not be apparent or readily seen for reasons known or unknown. It was also possible that it was all just my mind or nature or even God just testing my faith through what was unseen.
The theme of what sat in the heart of anything continued as we observed the weather. The bitter cold and snow were relentless, true to a historic Southwestern Pennsylvania winter. The heart of the cold temperatures came from the fact the jet stream had dipped way down into the lower United States, ushering Arctic air across the country. The physical reason of all the snow could be attributed to both the amounts of moisture in the air and the temperatures cooling the moisture into crystal form, leading to white flakes everywhere.
The theme of purpose came to the forefront in an article we read along with some reflection readings. All the information presented was very informative and thought provoking, but no overbearing. The questions were simply to consider one’s actions, be they at home, work, in relationships, or within our minds and hearts. The exercise really put an exclamation point on the purpose of life, weather, and nature.
“The purpose of all wars is peace.” –Saint Augustine
Lesson of the Week: Serve As You Seek
Our lesson of the week came as we continued to ponder the nature of winter weather. We tried our best to help some others in need by shoveling snow, offering assistance, and simply checking in to make sure those we knew were safe. These acts were simple and not cumbersome by any means. However, in talking with and praying for others, we found a sense of purpose. No, we were not moving mountains, curing the pandemic, or solving the many woes of the world. However, we were going about life with a bit of intensity, spark of curiosity, sense of service, and manner of independence.
The simple act of doing something, be it small or large, offered us renewed energy and faith. Maybe it was just sending a note card or opening a door, but the fact we were taking the first step to make the way easier for someone else was uplifting. Maybe we did or did not get thanked for our actions. The point of the matter was not to receive thanks, but to be thankful for the opportunity to do something, anything, constructive with our time. Perhaps that was the most enlightening part of the lesson. The time may have been two seconds or two hours or two days, but the fact remained it was time granted to us to do with it as we chose (or in some cases felt obligated or simply had to fill a required need–emphasis on need and not want here).
Our activities this week reinforced our long-held belief that doing is the best way to heal the inner angst and stress that can paralyze the mind, heart, and body if one stays stagnant. While winter does force us into a different level of activity, it does not have to freeze our mind, heart, soul, or body. Granted, we may feel stuck or cold or less energetic due to lack of sunlight, but we can still do something small (or large if we are ambitious) each day.
As we go about our doing, we have the potential to find different perspectives, develop character, build stamina, and find our way in life. Our actions and interactions cause more actions and interactions to occur, thus continuing the natural weave of life in, around, before, and beside us. We may not be aware of this at any given time, and maybe it is a good thing we are not aware in some cases, for if we realized the impact, we might become concerned, scared, or lose heart.
“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Song of the Week: Silent Symphony
Our song of the week came to us through nature. While shoveling snow early in the morning and late at night, we noticed a song of silence around us. The falling snow acted as an insulator, muffling or negating sounds in the distance. Combined with the fact not many other people were out and about at the same time as us, the end result was an intimate concert with the skies above offering glimpses of the sun, moon, stars, and planets. The very early morning hours were most peaceful with the horizon just starting to beam, the stars and moon fading, and the clouds slipping past.
Venus and the crescent moon were especially stellar the past two mornings, sitting in the southeastern sky. Their shapes appeared crisp and clear in the very cold air. The crispness and clarity were enlightening to us, offering a renewed energy with the light being so bold and bright. With sunrise at 7:33 AM and sunset at 5:35 PM, we now have just over ten hours of daylight, which is encouraging. However, we still need to be reminded at times of just how far we have come in winter’s journey from the solstice in December until now. We have learned that these reminders may appear small in nature or appearance, but great in effect upon the soul, just like a song upon the breeze.
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” –Aldous Huxley
Words of the Week: Cues in Time’s Speak
Our words of the week from the Daily Word devotional include pray, happy, divine order, healing, desire, forgive, and care. We are going to look at these backwards this week, for we find they tie into our theme and lesson better in this order, instead of forward. When we care about others (and ourselves), we find ways to forgive. This forgiveness inspires the desire to heal, which in turn ties into the divine order of life. This divine order is meant to allow for both happy and sad parts of life. As we go through the happy and other emotions along the way, we learn to pray, which in turn really starts the cycle all over again. All this is the heart of life, of which winter’s heart and purpose play a part.
“The heart that loves is always young.” –Greek Proverb
May we come to view the seasons of life for their positive qualities and allow the negative to fall behind us in time. May we learn to appreciate all that life has to offer us, no matter the outer appearance of the gift, and may we find the light of hope, faith, and love in winter’s heart.
Winter’s Heart
Venus giving the crescent moon
A goodbye kiss in the dawn’s swoon
As the snow on the ground sparkles from afar
Blanketing the sounds of life’s many parts
With a freshness and clarity
Only love’s exceptions can verily
Define and extend
In time spent
With nature’s inner art
Of winter’s heart.
Sun in the distance appearing fresh and new
After the night’s existence dissipates through
The cold breeze blowing
And hold of the seas flowing
From shore to shore
In the lure of more
To come and to see
Within God’s love that bleeds
Even from the dimmest spark
Of winter’s heart.
Come, oh, come My Lord’s love
In the sun, the rivers that run, and the moon
In the water and the fields
That offer places to reveal
Wisdom and knowledge
Of the depths within nature’s college
So that the soul may continue on
As life unfolds and sings its song
In the splintered dark
Of winter’s heart.
-Lisa A. Wisniewski
A Note of Thanks
Our thanks this week goes out to my late Great Aunt Theresa, whose birthday was January 26th. Aunt Theresa was a role model of how to spread light into the world, often going to great extents to make sure others were cared for and loved. Her claim to fame in our family (in addition to her baking skills) was her letters and cards, which most likely kept the postal service in business given their frequency to family members, friends, acquaintances, and numerous others. Some of the small things we did this week were things she taught me to do as a young girl, and we hope she is smiling down upon us from heaven for our efforts to help keep the postal service running and others knowing they are loved.
-Lisa, Leo, and Lena
Natural Deltas 