Midwinter Musings

Today is Midwinter, Candlemas, the Feast Day of St. Brigid, Imbolc. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day in the United States; we’re only halfway through actual winter but today is the day we truly begin hoping for spring. After a pleasant and balmy January, the weather in southeast Texas has been wet, gray and growing progressively colder all week. It’s an odd time of year, this liminal stretch between the festive celebrations of late December and the true return of the light at the equinox. Some cultures celebrate the weeks between the Feast Day of the Epiphany and Lent as the last hurrah before self-imposed abstinence and decorum of that latter, more somber period of repent.

Seems like a lot is going on in what should be the slow and quiet season. Nature is, for the most part, dormant. In my part of the world the trees are sometimes fooled by a mild January, only to be served a harsh reminder in February or early March when a late winter freeze blows through. Leon Hale, one of my favorite local folklorists and columnists, used to make an annual trek to south Texas in late February, searching for spring. The change of season was only confirmed when he reached the first old and established blooming Mesquite trees (he didn’t trust the younger trees). From that point, spring would continue to move upwards and fully envelope Texas in a matter of weeks.

Like the trees, we are fooled into premature blooming because not only do we rush the season, we also don’t fully appreciate the necessity and purpose of the darkness. We’re supposed to use this stillness to allow our bodies and our minds time for regenerative rest and recouperation. Forcing the season is an exhausting and futile exercise.

After three decades of working in Corporate America, with January being by far the busiest month of the year, this January I was able to embrace the quiet, practice internal stillness and align my inner clock with the real timekeeper, the seasons of the Dao and the cycles of the Universe. I appreciate this rare gift and the opportunity to slow down and immerse myself in the ageless rhythm is one I will not take for granted.

So, this is me, poking my head up to check for the sunshine. It’s not here yet but I know it’s coming and I’m starting to make plans. I’ll be back soon with more musings and continuation of my BlogStories. I hope you will all be here as well. Drop me an email or message on the socials to say hi and tell me how you are spending your time this winter.