Old Man Winter is back!

Old Man Winter returned this week after a seemingly very short 6 month reprieve. Yesterday I was out driving in it, trudging around in the snow and not any too happy about that reality either.

It fascinates me to learn where some of our words and phrases originate.

According to Samantha-Rue Tuthill, AccuWeather staff writer, “Personifications of the season, such as Jack Frost and Old Man Winter, are symbolically credited for the incoming storms and chill of winter, as humanity’s fascination with weather has been ingrained in storytelling, religion and mythology for centuries.”

In climates that experienced drastic seasonal changes winter she says it was a difficult time to find food and survive the elements. For cultures who credited aspects of their lives to gods and goddesses, winter was a time to appease them in order to ensure survival and the return of spring.

“As time progressed, stories of ancient gods of winter began to transform into new personifications of the season. The old gods riding across lands on icy winds transformed to the more modern adaptations, such as Old Man Winter, or Russia’s Father Frost. These personifications have become colloquialisms for the winter season, evolving from old world religious roots to figures in literature and pop culture.” (Where Did Old Man Winter, Jack Frost Come From; December 20, 2013; AccuWeather)

I was rather cranky yesterday anticipating another long, snowy, cold, driving slow again, Old Man Winter that arrived way too soon for my preference. How I am to survive it without loathing every minute of it?

Silly isn’t it wondering how to survive it with all the conveniences I have to see me through from warm jackets and boots to the heat in the house over my head. The only hunting I need to do is for bargains at the grocery store to fill my belly full. I am certain spring will arrive next March and my world will once again be alive with color.

My life is far from my ancient roots. Yet my thinking is about survival.

Charlotte Joko Beck, Nothing Special Living Zen, reminds me that “we have to face everything”.

“From birth to death, we’re caught in this swirling of winds which is really what life is: an enormous energy, moving and changing,’ Beck states. (Pg. 68)

“Life is not a safe space. It never was, and it never will be. If we’ve hit the eye of the hurricane (a safe zone) for a year or two, it still cannot be counted on. There is no safe space, not for our money, not for ourselves, not for those we love.” (Pg. 71)

The more time I spend trying to protect or insulate myself from this life that changes, the more stress I feel. The more stress I feel the more miserable I am and the less I really experience life too.

To really be alive and not just survive, I do have to face everything including the white snow that has blanketed my yard. It does bring gifts to me if I open my mind to the experience of it.

What are do you want to not face right now in your life?