Winter has come upon us suddenly (but not unexpectedly) and
with a vengeance. The snow commenced
week’s end last and has not stopped since.
At the end of the snow event it came up above my ankle. Each day it continued to fall it adds another
clenched fist worth of powder to the height of the total accumulation.
My new machine for clearing snow handles up to six inches of
the stuff comfortably. Thus I have had
to repeatedly trek out and move the snow.
Day first and day second it was sort of fun learning the ins and outs of
proper snow throwing machine technique.
The novelty has worn off. Now it
is just another chore in a life filled with chores, dishes, laundry, the snow,
feeding the cat in the morning, etc.
The now is actually pretty, still or maybe I should say yet. I have not grown to despise it but I
will. By February it will be as much of
a constant nagging pain as my stomach is.
However, there will be no chalky balm or little capsule (that makes me
belch just endlessly) to ameliorate my distress. So, if I weren’t so tired, and I will be
rested on the morrow, I would tell myself to take some photographs and play
with the images. Photos only capture the
skeletal structure of reality; filters fix it and cropping focuses it.
Tonight, I will build a fire, a big fire. I will read a book I think and not watch
television. As much as I just want to
collapse I can’t allow that because if I do the elements win. If I simply let my mind veg out I will have
wasted some of the precious little time I have left on this earth. W.S. Merwin is going blind and he still can
see inwardly in ways I can barely even imagine.
He in most likelihood does not turn on some old science fiction show to
unwind. He probably has someone read him
some Zen parables.
Fear not the snow.
Fear the subdued mind. You may
have to accede to limitations your body places on you but you must fight until the end
to keep your mind vibrant.
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