I’ve been watching
long shadows stretch across snowdrifts.
Letting my eyes rest
on sunlit peaks and contours,
feeling the warmth just by looking,
then skating my eyes
up those lines.

There is a feeling of
seeking, reaching, wondering…
…what next?

And yet,
it is in this moment,
this treasure of a moment
that I feel so grateful
to be in.
To truly see
and be a part of.

I do love winter.
At least,
in the beginning.
Ask me again in February,
or especially March,
and I might give you a different answer.

It is through the changes
in the seasons that I find joy.
And there are always, always
changes.

If I keep my focus
on this single moment,
this single day…
appreciate what this one day has to offer…
whether it be the strange, sudden
darkness that washes over me like a wave
in November,
or the shocking sunlight
on rare December mornings
that breaks through tree branches,
or the red bark of dogwood shrubs
growing even brighter late in winter.

Each moment is both long and short.

I like this time of year
when I get to focus in
on both
the darkness and the light.