For the final truth about snowflakes is that they become more individual as they fall—that, buffeted by wind and time, they are translated, as if by magic, into ever more strange and complex patterns, until, at last, like us, they touch earth. Then, like us, they melt.” –http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/01/03/all-alike
I am wondering how to do what seems like the impossible, i.e. put a good spin on all this white snow. All these tiny little crystals are getting the best of me. I will admit that the other night the snow did indeed actually glisten-it was as if there were little tiny shimmers popping on and off. It was quite spectacular, and I enjoyed the surreal movie scene quality to it. I know, some people love the snow, to them I say “Lucky You.” Maybe if it didn’t “interfere” making so many things, in my everyday routine, so much more difficult I would agree. I will give it a “pretty factor” of +8 (out of 10 – It can’t be 10 for the GIANT piles from the plows all over the place are NOT pretty.)
OK…here’s the positive spin I could come up with for all this past, present and future snow.
#1) “Snowflakes start off all alike; their different shapes are owed to their different lives.” –http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/01/03/all-alike My own translation into “human” terms/lives…. We are all the same inside. Our outer looks, our shapes are transposed by our environments, unique DNA and lives. As a snowflake floats through the sky it’s altered by environmental factors-as we drift through our lives we are altered by many things as well, and so we too make adjustments as needed.
#2) “A snowflake is either a single ice crystal or an aggregation of ice crystals…Initial attempts to find identical snowflakes by photographing thousands of them with a microscope from 1885 onward by Wilson Alwyn Bentley found the wide variety of snowflakes we know about today.” –http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowflake My own translation into “human” terms/lives…We are indeed individuals but a community gives us strength. Just like snowflakes arrive in masses, no man/woman is really an island.
#3) “A non-aggregated snowflake often exhibits six-fold radial symmetry…” (That makes many snowflakes a hexagram shape.) Within Indic lore, the (hexagram) shape is generally understood to consist of two triangles—one pointed up and the other down—locked in harmonious embrace. The two components are called “Om” and the “Hrim” in Sanskrit, and symbolize man’s position between earth and sky. The downward triangle symbolizes Shakti, the sacred embodiment of femininity, and the upward triangle symbolizes Shiva, or Agni Tattva, representing the focused aspects of masculinity. The mystical union of the two triangles represents Creation…” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagram My own translation into “human” terms/lives – Creation is usually a good thing. Creations not only means human lives, but to me also means imagination and creativity. Therefore, we have the yin/yang, the male/female sides to creativity and the simplicity of a clear known shape intertwined.
That’s it, I think three good positive reflections on all this snow is pretty darn good!
By the way…Want to know more about the native Vermonter Wilson Alwyn “Snowflake” Bentley (1865-1931), the man who is one of the first known photographers of the snowflake? He manged to capture more than 5,000 images of those little tiny crystals we know as snow, and indeed showed us, no two are the same! Click link http://snowflakebentley.com
Letting go…..This seems to be thread that I am continuing. I have been writing about doing your personal in-body housework. Suggesting we all should be doing our ‘work’ all the time, not to wait until Jan 1 to set up a bunch of resolutions, to think about things we want to/need to change about ourselves, our ways, our behaviors, our patterns, or even our lives. Could it be I can’t let go of the subject? Ha ha… The truth of the matter is that I think this is a never ending process as humans who are paying attention and continuing to grow as adults and “good” people. I am sure of two things. One is this is not the last time for the subject, and the second is that once you let go of one thing, the next one pops up almost instantly!
Heres to self process of discovery, the joy of hope, and the wonderful feeling if you find the end of a rainbow!
I read a quote recently that said, “You will find that it is necessary to let things go, simply for the for reason they are heavy.” Author unknown, it was a Facebook post, and I apologize for not being able to give credit where credit is due. I was talking the other day with a dear friend about the very topic of letting go. She said/asked, “How do you do it? How do you let something go?” I translate that to: Part one – How does one come to terms that the “it” is just too heavy… and not serving any positive purpose to your day/life? Part two – How do you process the “it” and what do you do release it? I wish I knew! I think it’s a cluster of thinking, asking yourself questions, acceptance, self love/ respect, and a large learning curve of self discovery. In another words, a lot of hard personal work! We each have to figure out what we will do with these new thoughts and realizations? How are we going to store them in new positive compartments? Or are we done with them and can truly throw them away? Baffling, for we all hang on to things, physical and mental, imaginary and real, that we no longer need but are afraid (?) to let go for some reason.
We will never be clear of all these “it’s” but if we can shorten the list, lighten the burden, and figure out what the core is, if we work really hard, and a little luck never hurts, even it’s just for the purpose of distraction, then we just maybe can let go of “it,” as well as the “shoulds” and ought to! Again, I remind you, as well as to myself, to what I refer to as open palm living. Embrace the new, the unknown, the adventures of the day, of our paths, of our personal journeys. Let go of the things that serve no positive intent and purpose. The earth does it with its equinox, the seasons and nature do it continually, and our calendar says here’s a new chance, a New Year. Welcome to 2014. Good luck to us all!
