This wintering season I came across this snowy mountain picture of the German Alps. It was a cold spring day during our last Sabbatical in Munich when a cable car tossed us out on the hill top, the second highest of the German Alps. Our eyes were blinded by all the white of the snow welcoming us to the roof of the world.
Looking at this shot anew reminded me of the essence of all wintering: To embrace the empty spaces, the tuned-down colors, the slowed-down pace, the sacred spaces inside and out guiding our view to what truly matters.
So today, our midweek blessing is an invitation. To pause a bit within that sacred emptiness. You can do so by using the image for a Visio Divina, a sacred reading practice of a picture. To just look at it until it slows down your breath and your thoughts about other things. Things which need to get done or thoughts of worry. Cover the inner noise just as the snow blanket covers the vibrant life ready to sprout into bloom again soon. Stay with the image and just look . Look with your inner eye. Listen with your inner ear.
You can also do so by looking inside yourself, where wide and empty fields and mountain slopes lie. The places of openness and not knowing, the places of dormancy and retreat. Look at them like you might on a winter walk. Let them lift your view to the horizon, slow your breathing, and quiet the chatter.
And suddenly the white space will begin to reveal its secret to you. You will see what you have not seen before. Maybe a bench to sit down and rest. Maybe a piece of sky to relax into. Perhaps a silhouette shaping into a meaningful form…
And
may this wintering season
embrace you kindly,
cradle what lies dormant in you
until the days of Greening.