I live in a temperate rain forest above the 49th parallel. Summer is glorious and easy to love, with lush growth, amazingly clean scented air, and slow pink dawn that starts at 3:30 am. Winter is harder to love. November can bring on a little bit of dread. I get out my lightbox and Vitamin D, start wondering if Mexico is in the budget this year... but in fact there are tremendous gifts in the Northwest winter. The magnificent cycle of bright and dark, wild growth and dormancy, sunshine and storm resonates with my interior life in a way the California fog and sunshine never did. The colours and quality of light are glorious in their subtlety and austerity - I have learned the whole spectrum of gray, from tarnished silver to velvet plum. The long time of waiting and going within tempers the soul with patience and gives Spring an incredible poignancy. I am so grateful for the opportunity to truly connect with nature. The natural world is my mirror - sometimes this can be uncomfortable and overwhelming, but there is a profound comfort in the realization of tangible connectedness. How does your particular environment reflect the cycles of your inner life? What are the challenges of connecting with your world? What can be celebrated?
