Seldom have I found cold-climate dwellers who, out of all of the year’s months, relish the coming of February. Not that there aren’t individual aspects of the month to look forward to. But for many of us the continuation of winter weather with only a few hints that spring will eventually arrive temps us to flirt with a gloomier outlook on life.
That temptation came my way this past month. “Why bother?” occasionally crept into my head. “What difference will it make?” Thankfully, these darker times of the soul give us pause. And in those dusky intervals we dig deep to search for answers to these “whys.”
Why bother working to hold on to a sustainably balanced world?
Crystal clear evening walks with the entire universe shining down… a riot of chickadees, juncos, and cardinals dancing around the feeders… the bite of winter winds on your face… a multitude of snow geese winging their way north… springtime’s smell of damp earth released at last from frost’s frozen clasp… an ocean teeming with life – each crashing wave making music with beach pebbles as it recedes… alfalfa and clover’s fresh-cut fragrance… maple leaves showing off an impossible array of colors before answering once again to winter’s call.
These are but a few of the “whys” leading us down a wise pathway. And we breathe in these simple earthy treasures. They are among the soul-filling reasons to work anew so that those who follow can also intimately experience these worldly pleasures. We’re reminded that the only home our children will ever know is right here; there is no other. Our privilege and obligation is to pass on a balanced and genuinely sustainable environment because they will always be forever…Earthbound.