Beneath the Bitter Snows

I haven’t posted anything here for a while. I have needed to  be quiet and listen. It’s been a rough time, these past couple months. Upheaval, bitterness, disappointment, fear, anxiety, and shock. So, I have had the need to reflect and look inside. What can I/we do when one is faced with deeply  troubling and seemingly incomprehensible change?

The Answer is no surprise to any of us.We must still get up every day, and do our best. Whatever that means for each of us; we owe it to ourselves, our families, and our fellow citizens to be the best Americans we can be. This will require us to be compassionate, thoughtful, measured, patient, and diligent. We need cool heads, long fuses, and commitment to our deep convictions.

No one should ever give up in the face of difficult changes. Winston Churchill is famous for saying” Never give in, never, never, never, never…”. He may or may not have said: “If you are going through Hell, keep going”. I’d like to think that he did. Anyway, it is sound advice.

We will find the end of this intricate, convoluted maze. We will find the end, because we have to keep going. We must move forward and make things better for our kids and their kids. I don’t think we could sleep too well at night if we gave in to apathy and indifference. That’s just not who we are.

I look out each day at the frozen landscape that is January in Maine . No sign of flowers, no green grass, no buds on the trees. My rhododendron look so beaten and lifeless. My flower beds are indistinguishable from other mounds of snow. It all seems so hopeless.

But, then I remember Spring. I remember how determined these plants and trees are each year; how they never cease to surprise me with their struggle to once again reach for the Light. They pop up from the ground in all their glory; they push through with new green life, and eventual color and beauty.

So, as the song says:

“Just remember in the Winter, far beneath the bitter snows, Lies the seed, that with the Sun’s love, in the Spring becomes the Rose.”

Author: barbarabeardsley

Writing is essential for me. My work helps me through so much of Life, and brings me joy and creative fulfillment. I hope you will enjoy reading my stories, essays, and poems. View all posts by barbarabeardsley