We have had more than the usual share of warmer than normal temperatures, but the weather over the weekend was probably the coldest of the winter season with a brisk wind. Temperature this morning was six degrees. Yesterday it was about two degrees when I went out into the sunny, windy day to knock ice off the drain from the sump pump in the basement. Creaking and moaning from the old maple tree nearby as it swayed in the breeze. I went out to get the newspaper, and my hands hurt from the extreme wind chill. Afterwards it snowed for a bit; the very tiny flakes that occur when it's very cold. Small and white and fluffy, like the ash from the wood stove.
It was uncomfortable to be outside over the weekend, but there was also something very gratifying about it. Pain, creaking and cracking, tiny flakes in the air, eyes watering: these are all parts of winter in Vermont. It's wonderful to experience them, it really is. Temperatures rebounding into the 40's today.
The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside. And only she who listens can speak.
Dag Hammarskjold
Zen page-a-day calendar
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