Winters in Wisconsin

It is good for our spirits to sometimes fall to the lowest point and then to rise from there to a better place. For it has been said before that only from suffering can there be true happiness. Wisconsin winters are long and dreary. Life in the dark months becomes all about waiting for those cloudless bursts of reluctant sunshine to peek through, mocking us with light but no warmth.

The banks of muddy snow lie silent and sinister everywhere one looks. They remind us of better days ahead, but make us feel despondent and isolated in the meantime. It is not your mind playing tricks on you. Winters here are depressing. The cold that chills us so suddenly and fearlessly leaves us uncomfortable in our own skins.

Ghosts of the past parade proudly in this weather. Unresolved thoughts and ideas live on the frozen panes of our windows, peering in shamelessly. The sullen faces of people walking their dogs--even the dogs wince in pain--make us feel that the world has turned into an endless blizzard of lost hope and sadness.


And then it happens. The sun majestically shines in the sky and one feels like falling to the ground and praying to it with grateful reverence. The spirit shifts from barely holding on to itself to reverberating with joy and love. Springtime! It makes one dizzy. It makes one feel that winter was a dream! The birds, the tulips, the sun, the glorious sun!
To my dear friends reading this who might be drowning in winter blues, remember the wise words of the poet Shelley “When winter comes, can spring be far behind?”


Wishing you all warmth and endless love!