Thoreau Thursdays (39): To Live Each Season As It Passes
January 12, 2012
“Live each season as it passes, breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”
— Henry David Thoreau, Walden
What are those special influences of winter? Can I befriend the cold and darkness instead of enduring or resigning myself to them?
When winter means rain instead of snow, I find it more difficult to evoke the cozy feeling of hibernating under a blanket of whiteness, the quiet calmness of a silent landscape, or the playful joy of an unexpected snow day. I have to work harder at appreciating the gifts of this damp season.
But after a bit of thought, I compiled the following Winter “To-Do” List to help me make the most of the next couple of months:
- Sleep late, and don’t feel guilty
- Splurge on a chai tea latte with soy
- Light candles
- Make kale chips
- Take a night walk
- Bake a gingerbread dessert
- Finish a hand-quilting project
- Plan a summer vacation
- Make soup from scratch
- Play a board game
- Learn to use my MP3 player and listen to some music
“We cannot wait for the weather to change before we begin to live.”
— Tim Farrington, A Hell of a Mercy: A Meditation on Depression
“Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.”
— Pietro Aretino, 1537
“I bloom indoors in the winter like a forced forsythia; I come in to come out. At night I read and write, and things I have never understood become clear; I reap the harvest of the rest of the year’s planting.”
— Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek
“At Christmas I no more desire a rose than wish a snow in May’s newfangled mirth.”
— William Shakespeare
January 12, 2012 at 8:00 am
I’m enjoying a strong cup of coffee just poured from the coffee press and watching my world turn to white in our first snow of the season. (southern wis.)
January 15, 2012 at 11:14 am
I love the quotes you have used to show winter. Hope it is ok to use one of them on my blog today. Thanks for the inspiration!
January 15, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Thank you. Yes, okay to use with the link back to my blog, which you did perfectly.
August 28, 2012 at 8:24 am
Hi Rosemary! I found your blog when I was searching for the source of the Thoreau quote. It’s a favorite of mine and my own blog is appropriately named Living the Seasons.
I’m reading this entry as summer is finally cooling down, the days and evenings are much more pleasant in central Virginia. Soon I’ll be looking over my 2012 goals and resetting them for the fall. This post was encouragement that I’m not the only one doing these things!
Have a wonderful end of summer.
Nancy