Winter in Nebraska can be brutal at its worse and at other times,  just plain yucky.  Grey skies, bare trees, lots of brown and grey and wet, slushy dirty snow.  It’s easy to focus on the negative and completely miss the beauty and wonderland staring you in the face.  So many times I focus on the cold and lack of color, but today there was this strange stark beauty that struck me.  The wet snow had clung to one side of the trees and branches and the contrast between the white and the dark against the grey sky was beautiful.

The evergreens were covered in snow, creating this winter wonderland.  I could imagine walking through the rows of trees, my footsteps muffled and everything so hushed and still.  This time of mindfulness surprised me because I’m usually worrying about the roads and crazy drivers and today I was completely taken aback by the trees.

The thing is, the trees are always there.  Do I take them for granted?  Am I mindlessly drifting from one thought to another instead of really taking in what is happening right in front of me?  What else have I missed while fussing about the winter in Nebraska?

I count the days from Winter to Spring, hoping the time goes fast.  I’m not sure why – I don’t know how much time I have left in this world and here I am just wishing it away instead of embracing it.  Much like the trees.

What could I do to be more aware of the beauty and to find ways to enjoy this winter?  Perhaps this could be part of my creativity challenge to take a part of the year that I really don’t enjoy and turn it into joy I can’t wait to experience.

In the meantime, I’ll go jump into bed and dream of the snow day I hope we might have tomorrow.  I never said this would be easy….