Winter, the season of quiet reflection.
Come forth into the light of things,
let Nature be your teacher.
—William Wordsworth
The restorative power of nature is something we read about and have come to accept. After all, it’s easy to understand when it’s a beautifully warm and sunny day. But when the winter months hang on, it seems as though Nature’s healing essence is harder to find and even more so to appreciate.
On top of that, we seem to schedule so many social events for ourselves that we start to feel run down. Well, it appears that Nature has something else in mind for us.
Now, more than ever is a time to move slowly, for winter is nature’s season of quiet reflection. The trees are bare, and the flowers are gone, but there is an underlying beauty that is ready to take our breath away. Or maybe, it’s ready to connect us to a deeper, inner breath. A cold winter day urges us to stop, be still, and listen to the quiet all around us. Nature is in a deep slumber and has a slow, almost silent breath. As we listen closely, we can hear the quiet beauty of winter and slowly find that place of rest within ourselves. —
Above: Snow-covered bench at Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, photograph by Zane Day.