In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.
-Albert Camus
Last week in Maine, we experienced what is known as a wintry mix of weather. For those of you that live in more temperate climates and are unfamiliar with this phenomenon, let me explain. A "Wintry Mix" means you start off with kind of like a freezing rain which pummels you until a slippery ice covers the roads and walkways, then it becomes snow, sometimes beautiful light snowflakes and other times, more grapple or hail-like, then for the finale, it pours down rain and the temperatures begin to drop so that everything is covered by a shiny layer of ice. It is a whole lot of good time.
Well, what happens with people's spirits is this great bungee jump into, "uh-oh, it is winter." People zip up their coats, twist on their scarves, and cover up their smiles and laughs. Winter becomes a force to reckon with and endure. We do our best to rejoice in the few days of beautiful white snow, ice-skating, and hot cocoa drinking. But it is the other days, the wintry mix days when one has to get to work, the grocery store, or the kids' school, those are the prime whining days-these are the days that get the publicity which determines our spirits.
Even though we know winter holds both kinds of weather, it can be challenging to keep our perspective during the less favorable times. So it is in our lives. We know life is full of challenges and tribulations, yet sometimes we get really thrown by circumstances or life events that leave us sliding all around and feeling like we are at the whim of life's "wintry mix".
How do we maintain the joy in our spirit despite the stormy weather in our lives?
Here are three ideas that I find very helpful:
1. Look for one thing to be grateful about. While I was walking my daughter to school in the freezing rain and sliding down each hill, I found that I was delighted to be getting exercise, fresh air, and time to chat with her.
2. Throw your head back and laugh. I am not kidding here. Try it. Toss your head back and let out the loudest HA HA HA you can muster. Do it again. You will either start laughing because you feel like you look foolish or you will get a glimpse that everything is going to be okay.
3. Take a Mini-Vacation. Do one really small thing that makes you feel so good. A warm bath, reading a magazine, sitting down to savor your favorite food treat, getting outside and lying in the grass and looking at the sky. Doing this can often break the mesmerism of the stormy energy that has come your way. And by grounding yourself in something you value, you foster the connection to that rather than the despair of the "wintry mix" that is making life tough. This is utterly simple and with great positive ripple effects in our day.
Storms will come and they will pass. As each one passes and clears, we get to decide what our attitude will be in how we weather each one. This is ours to choose.
What does it take for you to keep the "wintry mix" of life's weather on the outside so that the sunny skies keep shining within?
