In the cold and dark

Welcome, dear ones. I know I don’t know you all, but I’m pretty firm in the belief that all humans are worthy, beautiful creatures, so welcome, dear ones.

It’s early here as I write this. 5:40 am to be exact. The snow is swirling outside my windows, which are old and let in the cold. And it’s COLD. We’re in the middle of an old-fashioned winter. There’s some kind of statewide emergency and they’ve asked us to all turn the heat down, so I’m huddled up next to our space heater with a blanket and tea on the way.

All the cold and dark makes me think about how so many things in life feel that way. Our relationships, our work, our parenting, our nation. So many things seem uncertain, cloudy, a bit dangerous.

And while sipping tea by the heater with a fur blanket sounds incredibly hygge, we don’t see our lives that way very often, do we? When we feel like life is in the cold and dark, it just feels….cold. And dark. There’s not much hygge in those inner dark spaces.

But….what if we found some? What if we brewed the proverbial tea, cuddled up with our souls, and found an inner cozy place to land amid the cold and dark? I’d honestly never thought this all the way through until I sat down to write. When the outdoors are cold and dark, what do I do? I turn on my twinkle lights, bake something yummy, snuggle with good books and my little ones….but when life feels cold and dark, what do I usually do? I lament and despair, and act like there’s nothing I can do to find solace.

I don’t know about you, but the next time things feel incredibly cold and dark in my life – like ice forming on the windows, snow piling up outside, frosty stars sort of cold and dark, I’m going to do my best to find some inner hygge. A cup of tea with my soul, a cozy blanket wrapped around my spirit, and a few moments of respite from the cold and dark.

Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger