Winter's Return

After several stormy days and springlike temperatures, the rains have subsided. Though some are contending with flood waters this morning, the earth looks renewed. It seems bolder..more ready to face several upcoming wintry days. I left my rabbit fern outside for the last several days so that it could enjoy the cool drops falling. Now it's back to its safe winter home...the basement! My pansies are thriving! They welcomed the rain's soaking waters. Now their hardiness and resolve will withstand the cold January nights. Isn't that the way the cycle of life goes 'round and 'round? We have those moments of bliss, and then we return to our routine ready to begin anew. Like the fern, we may return to safety for awhile; or, like the pansies, we gird ourselves with more resolve to meet any challenge. Life has its own agenda. Only in the renewal of one's true self can we escape Thoreau's often quoted "lives of quiet desperation."

I will not overlook the bliss in life's repeating cycles. I will bask in the renewal of brief interludes that appear with a break from the ordinary. I will return refreshed to embrace the safety of the sun's rays or to summon more resolve to weather the storms.