Stephanie Martin-Smith
Soul Purpose  

I look up into the sky and see a UFO. Is it a bird or a plane? No, it’s something quite a bit brighter … the sun!

It’s been so long since it shone here in our area I almost didn’t recognize it. I remember seeing it on our trip to Florida but that seems so long ago now.

I find it absolutely amazing the change it brings to my mood. Suddenly nature takes on a whole new look –  the trees are prettier, the snow glistens and winter doesn’t look so cold and glum, especially from the inside of a window where you are only feeling its fantastic heat.

I know I must accept things about winter, but it doesn’t seem to make me enjoy it any more. It seemed all of my students this past week expressed how tired they were no matter what age, and I was in complete agreement. You know that when everyone thinks it’s much warmer out at  minus 11 degrees and I agree that it’s downright balmy out, we have become true Ontarians!

At yoga we were all discussing lower back and shoulder discomfort, probably due to shovelling. I wonder how many people have fallen in our winter weather – I can count  several stories I’ve heard. It also strikes me funny that most of us are far more concerned about someone seeing our wipe-out than how injured we may be. I guess that comes later.

Our laneway seems to be getting narrower as the days go by and the snow just keeps piling up. This started in November! People are calling this an old fashioned winter, however, I guess we should thank our lucky stars that we are not pioneers. Our source of heat is more than a wood stove in the middle of the cabin and the bathroom is not outside. Our cars are warmer than the horsedrawn wagons and for most of us our work takes place indoors.

I do feel for the outdoor workers in these cold temperatures. I was fortunate enough to only work one year outside in the winter in steel-toed boots and that was enough to last me a lifetime!

So along with being grateful for being born in a generation of comfort, I must say I am even more grateful for a good dose of Mother Nature’s radiant sun. It seems to give back the energy that was lost and wipe away the glum slumber that many of us seem to fall into but since it is a part of our Canadian winters it’s best just to find other ways to gain energy.

So rather than hibernate, I try to do more yoga and exercising so that way when spring does arrive, I am ready to spring into action.