After the activity and almost frenetic socializing of November and December, I find January to be a balm for the spirit. The frigid air and the shortened days offer the perfect excuse to disengage, to look inward, to take stock of where I've been and where I would like to go.
I love the solitary moments that this month, more than any other, offers. All through December, I look forward to those quiet January moments - a book, a cup of hot tea, a favorite chair. The darker and colder the world becomes outside my window, the cozier and warmer it feels inside.
It's a time for reflection. I experience less stress and feel more optimistic than any other time. I know this is not the case for many others. It was not always so for me, but now that I've accrued a few years, I find the charms of January appeal to my more introspective side.
Maybe it's the kind of month that takes a few years of living to appreciate, or perhaps I need it more than when I was younger. It has a recuperative quality to it now. I feel no obligation to extend myself, to stretch, to push, push, push in January. I allow myself to just be. I cook big pots of things, watch good movies that I've seen before, and write.
When I was younger, I could only manage to get through the dreariness of January by looking past its icy complexion to spring. I couldn't see the subtle beauty of brave, bare branches stretching toward a stark winter sky, snow birds eating at the feeders outside my window, or the white ice around the edges of the creek.
Beauty is to be found where you look for it. Oh, if I'd only looked a little sooner.
Photo: Lantif
2 comments:
What a lovely reminder of the joys of January.
Beautiful thoughts- and fabulous picture- makes me wish we got snow here- well almost- I don't do "cold" well.
Have a great day and thanks for sharing.
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