Sitting by the window, with my focus on the book placed on the table, I was trying to grasp the information and commit it to memory. It seemed like there were no distractions, at least not from the dull surroundings of an afternoon, in the middle of winter. It wasn’t like there was much to look out for anyway, or so I thought…..
Finally, my tired eyes and a saturated brain trying to make sense of the jostling pieces of information, were now desperate for a break. So, I looked out of the window.
Surprised by the changed weather, I noticed that the backyard was now covered by several sheets of white sparkling snow. The undaunted rays of the sun pierced through the layers of clouds, seemingly trying to make their presence felt. Even if weak in their intensity, they did help enhance the view, with reflection from the snow assisting them. The trees with their bare branches, the houses with varying colored roofs, fences, the sidewalks, and even the street, all covered in white.
I had seen this spectacle of nature many times now. Yet, it never ceases to amaze me at how drastically different this landscape now was, from last summer. The sights and sounds that filled the busy, long days. lush green grass, the leaves and flowers, the warm breeze, and the sometimes blinding sunshine. The ever-present busy birds, occasional bunnies scurrying around ,with the agitated dogs barking at them, and other usual critters, now gone, like they were never part of the scenery…almost like a figment of imagination. Those that could migrated to warmer locales or hid away in their burrows, or any other refuge that they could find from the cold.
But then, was this such an aberration? The unblemished white coat of snow, contrasting with the colors of the dark brown branches, a few evergreens, occasional patches of grass and the neighborhood houses mixing in with nature, all seemed to work in unison. It was as if they were trying to create their own colorful scenery, trying not to be overshadowed by the brilliance of summer, on the other end of the seasonal spectrum. The reflection of the sunlight from the snow helped to highlight these winter star casts, compensating for the restrictions caused by the astronomical rules of the sun and the earth.
The extremes of the occasional harsh winters, sure does make the warmth of summers dearer. But finding the beauty within this harsh winter does indeed warm the heart, and gives it hope….Maybe life is better spent looking for the beauty within its winters, rather than just its harshness, reducing the longing for the warmth of its summers?
Anand's Thoughts 