“Advice is like snow—the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks to the mind.” ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Dear Universe,

It’s been snowing—a lot.

Now of course I know it’s winter and that I live in New England so naturally I can expect a little snow this time of year.

But it’s been snowing more than normal, shattering records, the snow piling up halfway on light poles, making roads icy and treacherous, making moods icy and treacherous.

Basically it feels like we all live in a snow globe that is constantly being twirled around, day and night, night and day.  In this snow globe we can’t ever escape.  Spring feels like another globe away, one we can’t break into.

All around me writers have been saying the snow is inspiring them to write more.

The other day a friend—and loyal reader of this blog—said to me, “I can’t believe you haven’t written about this snow.”

It got me thinking, am I supposed to be realizing something here?  Am I supposed to be having some sort of snow-induced-life-changing-inspiration?

Because so far, I hadn’t.

But because I have a curious mind, I decided to really take the snow in.  I decided to embrace the frigid temperatures, the snowy-slushy mess and see what, if anything, came to mind.

Here’s what I discovered.

We are tired of the snow.  Of course I already knew this, but everywhere I went, that’s all I heard.

Whether I was at work, at the checkout line of the supermarket or at the drive-thru ordering a hot coffee, people wanted to vent about the snow.

From leaky roofs, to slippery sidewalks, to traffic nightmares, to shoveling soreness, to frozen fingers… people had a winter woe ready to share at the drop of a snowflake.

I understood.  After all, I had been doing my fair share complaining too.

I didn’t have a life altering moment, but I did have a realization.

I didn’t want to complain about the snow, and how cold it was, and how I was so sick of it anymore.

I’ve been trying this tactic for about a week now and when I catch myself slipping (on my intention, not the ice) I stop and redirect the thought.  And while the snow and icy cold temperatures haven’t gone anywhere, my mood is a lot warmer.

The thing was, all the complaining was making a situation I have no control over worse.  Besides, I reasoned that since there is enough complaining happening all around, I didn’t need to add more negativity to the messy mix.

Because here’s the thing.  I know the snow won’t remain forever. In fact, in just another month it will officially be Spring.  It offers me solace to think ahead to sunny, warmer, longer days.

That’s when the inspiration hit me.  There is a lesson in all this.

No matter what you may struggling with, try to look ahead and believe there are brighter days ahead.  If you find yourself worrying too much, try to replace the negative thought with a positive one.

Because the snow will eventually melt and the struggle won’t always remain the same.  Just like the weather, life is full of seasons that run their course, cycles that come and go.  Your job isn’t to worry or stress about that.  Your job is to believe and trust the process, to just ride the waves—or ride your sled—through the ups and downs, the highs, the lows, the best way you possibly can.

It’s been snowing—a lot.  But the sun will fight through and leaves will return.  Just give it time, trust and patience.

With Gratitude,

A