Walking in a Winter Wonderland
We didn’t have a white Christmas in Denver this year, but I’m still longing for snow. Given that, I decided to blog a piece I’d written after the many blizzards that hit Colorado during the Holiday Season in 2006 and 2007.
On December 20th, Denver was hit with the first of many snowstorms that blanketed the city. While it messed up holiday travel plans for people across the nation, it brought Denver to a stop. Our governor declared it a state of emergency.
White-out conditions persisted closing roads one by one as weary drivers did their best to arrive home safely. However, a good friend and I decided it was time to play. At 6:00 that night we donned warm apparel and headed for the Clear Creek Greenbelt.
May your path always be pristine
The downpour of white, coupled with the wind, made travel slow, but with goggles and other winter gear on, we enjoyed every moment spent trekking through the woods, listening to the creek trickle echoes below icy overhangs.
There were many polarities and rhythms that became a part of our journey. For example, although the goggles were great to protect our eyes from blowing snow, we had to take them off to really take in the beauty. The pristine snow covered branches caused them to curl around us; we felt like we were in our own snow globe enveloped in a sphere of the snow’s embrace.
The weight of the snow dipped the branches so low that they often touched the path making walking impossible. We’d scoot down on our knees and crawl through the tunnels feeling our hearts leap from our chest with pure awe and joy at the surrounding winter wonderland. My teeth froze in a smile behind my neck gator and I felt my vibration raise higher and higher.
With all the gear we had on, warmth wasn’t an issue as the exertion from walking through knee-high snow was quite the workout. During one tunnel excursion, I rolled over on my back to rest and look up through the veins of branches gently holding this abundance of snow.
As I gazed through the snow canopy, I couldn’t help but notice how the elements were dancing in a rhythmic tango of balance, beauty, and grace. The mixture of air, water, and temperature to form snow were the perfect combination of intelligence and spiritual flow. As the snow danced toward the earth in a wisp of powdery sensuality, it kept giving and giving of its gift of moisture, and the ground received with perfect acceptance. The cold snow created a blanket of warmth for Mother Earth, and in spring, she’ll give back in an abundance of growth.
Although the fire of sun was not visible, there was a warmth generated by the moon, which was waning in her third quarter but found a way to peak through the curtain of white between us. The scene was so big, I felt like a dot in the middle of a sea of tranquility. My emotions tempered by awe. There was nothing I needed to do to create this magnificent dance of nature except show up and enjoy the moment. My presence added the human dimension, and all I had to do was be.
This made me realize the importance of dreaming big. That the fulfillment of our deepest desires happens when we let go and be in the creative experience of Spirit doing what it does best – without any assistance from us. The possibilities are Infinite. Who’d have thought a small branch could hold that much snow, shimmering jewels of frozen splendor.
I listened to the silence of the falling snow. I smelled the cool air that tingled in my nostrils. I scooped a handful of snow into my mouth and tasted the magnificence in the moisture of this blanket of white that rested below me, above me, and all around me. It refreshed and revitalized me. The purity and devotion signified by the color white is a fullness that encompasses all the positive aspect of our lives demonstrating an abundance that is incomprehensible to the mind. It must be felt. Pure Awareness and compassion walk hand and hand in that experience of sensuality in which all the senses are alive and in the moment.
The gifts I received from snow that day are available for all of us when we take the time to Commune with the Infinite, be in Its presence, and allow It to speak to our hearts and souls in Its plethora of voices.
I wish you air to breathe, fire to warm, water to drink, and earth to LOVE!
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