A Glass Half-Full

Do you enjoy reading stories about how someone came to a new understanding about Life, and how that new perspective changed the person in a positive way? I do.

Here is such a story. Winter has been a season I have resisted almost all my life. I have to admit I resented the cold. Because I re-located to “sunny California” for the much-touted warmth and sunshine, it came as a shock to discover the cold winters we experience up here in the northern part of the state. Living the myth of year-round summer-like days, I would dress in clothes too lightweight for the season. I recall one particularly frigid New Years’ Eve, when icy patches and bone-chilling fog made the roads hazardous. I shivered through the evening in a thin little party dress with spaghetti straps, my bare legs shaking in high-heeled sandals, and the rest of me protected from the freezing temperatures by only a light wrap. What exactly was I thinking??

Maybe I’m a slow learner, because it’s only been in recent years that I have given in and admitted it’s darn cold in these parts! Now I dress in layers, adding a sweater or fleece jacket even inside the house, when the temperature falls below my comfort zone. No more do I run around in thin little flat shoes. Instead I put on warm socks and lace-up boots, and forego the fashionable for the comfortable.

The amazing part of this is that I no longer resent the winters here! Facing the truth about our climate and dressing accordingly has kept me warm and enabled me to relax and enjoy the wintry days.

There is another aspect about winter that has always been very difficult for me, and that is the shorter days and long dark nights. Like many people, my emotions are affected by the weather and the seasons. The shorter days mean there is less time to accomplish the tasks I set for myself. Rushing through my work, I have not been very pleasant company, I’m sure. Resentment festered in me, not just about the cold temperatures, but also at the darkness, and the fewer hours to take care of all my chores.

For some reason however, this year is different for me, and it all has to do with “Light”. Many people in our society are preparing for Christmas, a time that celebrates the birth of the Christ, known also as “the Light of the World”. Others light candles in honor of Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights”. All around, houses are festooned with lights and wreaths, while inside our homes, Christmas trees are laden with yet more lights, sparkling ornaments and tinsel.

Since time immemorial humans have anticipated the winter solstice, marking the return of the sun. I have found myself for the first time fully embracing the knowledge that around the 21st of December, the sun will reach its lowest point. From that moment on, we will gain precious moments of sunlight each day. This is what I mean by my “glass half-full”. Rather than focusing on how dark it is, my heart is joyful, because I know we are fast approaching the return of the sun! Knowing the Light will start returning in just two short weeks, I have come to terms with the shorter days and the long dark nights.

In accepting the fact that the days are shorter and there’s not much I can do to change it, I have also cut myself a little slack, as they say. I want to be kind to myself. I want to enjoy each moment, whatever it brings. I now make shorter “to-do” lists, and if I don’t finish my tasks, I’m okay adding my unfinished chores to tomorrow’s list.

Don’t you find Life just so interesting? What causes these sea-changes in our perspective? I suspect there are probably little baby-steps leading up to these more noticeable shifts, changes that are too small to notice. But the Grace of the Unknowable breaks into our lives when we least expect It, and suddenly we see the tangible results in how differently we are living our daily lives. Ah! That causes me to smile inwardly, and to be ever so grateful!