How to begin the day

 Waking up I raise the blind, at first a little bit resigned  that  it's another day of low ceiling, no blue sky to be had.  But THEN I realize it's snowing, big fat fluffy flakes and I  am immediately cheered.

How beautiful the falling snow.  It fills me with gratitude for its beauty, with comfort for its quiet steadiness. with peace for the silence it brings.

Curious I step outside to check the thermometer. A few degrees above freezing, right where it's been stuck for these past several days. Down on the road I hear a city kind of sound - many tires moving through slush, only in slow motion. I can't see past the trees at the bottom of the meadow, but I suddenly understand what I'm hearing - a logging truck - all those tires are on one vehicle. And that vehicle is creeping down the road, a sign of how treacherous the driving must be.

We are at the mercy of the seasons. And why should it be any other way. Even when I first woke and saw simply grey sky, there was a part of me reaching for connection, reaching for a place of inhaling deep breaths of this grey day and feeling with a satisfied heart how good it is to be alive. The trick, of course,  is to let that part lead me into the day, cheerful and grateful.