seasons
White patches dot the landscape as remnants of the last snow storm remind us that winter is not yet over. Fog permeates the field of vision as cold snow and earth collide with warmer moist air moving through our region. Predictions of spring like temperatures squeezing out rain are followed with those of sub-freezing climes for the following week. As nature behaves as is her way we attempt to keep the small environment in which we live steady in our preferred way. We cannot bring on summer in the outside environment, but with the help of petroleum and dried wood we can create a comfortable space in which the ravages of winter are not present. As PD symptoms begin to ratchet their winter like presence, intensifying pain, stiffness, and tremor, we know that we cannot as yet eliminate the cause. We have made friends with this physiological season in which we live, but we also strive to create an environment in which those “seasonal” challenges do not become the rule. Gratefully, medication and exercise provide the fuel that helps to moderate the environment making the “living” space more inviting. Maintaining a mind embraced with thankfulness enables it to look beyond the symptoms of constraint into the field of hope that is a new season. May the season in which you reside be one that brings hope embraced in the arms of gratitude.
The frost covered meadow glistens as the fog rises from the riverbed reminding us that even in the light of the bright morning sun, the cold of winter will soon be at hand. Gone for now are the days of short sleeved strolls down the farm lane. Strolls now are layered and cut short by the grip of the biting cold wind. Firewood is still being gathered in anticipation for the frosty months ahead. Stable stalls will soon be dressed in layers of straw and hay as barn animals nestle in, finding refuge from nature’s winter visit. Prepared or not for the coming change the earth’s rotation progresses as it has for millennia before. We are each the product of change. From gamete to blastula to embryo to baby, change is the very nature of that into which we are crafted. As change after change moves forward we view the progression as age. The fullness of life is experienced in the embrace of change, not as a destination but as the journey. May your embrace today be of the fullness awaiting your outstretched arms!
The light of the morning sun glistens through the tree tops as it rises from the East. The crisp fall air bids adieu to the days of summer. The leaves once glowing green now fall gently in the breeze, inhabited by a multitude of yellow, red, and brown hues. Fall has fully arrived and ushers in evenings around the wood burning stove and days shuffling between sweaters and short sleeved shirts. For some, the change of season brings with it stiffness, aches, and pains. For others it may usher in freedom of movement as a relief from the heat and humidity that frequently accompanies the summer sun. Whether stiff, achy, or free from either, the season rolls on with the promise of winter to come that prepares us for thankfulness when spring arrives once more. In each season is found reason for giving thanks for the life we are afforded and its opportunities for listening and learning. I in one moment detest the notion of having to remember to take my medication and be bound by its absorptive half life and in the next moment give thanks that the medication is available and, so far, effective. Such is life! It’s inconvenient to have to go to the supermarket but it is great having the family over for dinner. It would be hard to accomplish one without the other. Sometimes inconveniences provide opportunities.