A Winter Psalm
the stillness that speaks
I have heard different authors speak about how each of the seasons have something to teach us. As if the season itself is a sacred invitation drawing us inward to something new. A new way of living, feeling, or being.
In her bestselling memoir, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, Katherine May argues that “wintering is a transformative period of life where we must retreat to care for ourselves. She draws lessons from nature—such as hibernation and the way trees drop leaves—to show that these dormant periods are not failures but a natural part of a cycle that allows for future growth.1
The beloved Quaker teacher, Parker J. Palmer, uses the seasons as a framework for understanding vocation and selfhood in his book, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. He writes that while winter can feel like death, it is actually a time for nature to go underground to renew itself. He suggests that we must “get out into” our internal winters—times of failure or depression—to learn what they have to teach us rather than avoiding them.2
There is wisdom these ideas that is available to each of us.
I have never really felt winter as I have this year. This winter it is as if I am living into it with my whole being in a way that feels foreign and inviting. Winter is slowing me down and settling my spirit in ways I did not expect.
There is something to be said of the rhythmic nature of the seasons; each one having something to teach me, a precious gift offered inviting me to notice and pay attention.
My body is noticing through my senses. I am in awe of what I see nature doing around me - snowflakes sparkling like diamonds, the crunch of snow under my boots, gorgeous cerulean blue skies, the delight in building a snowman with Travis.
Two weeks ago, we were in the middle of yet another winter advisory. I was working from that day to avoid driving through the snow. I had an extended break between some virtual meetings and decided to take a break to watch the snow fall outside our living room bay window.
I made myself a mug of peppermint hot chocolate, turned the cozy armchair to face the window, and wrapped myself up in a cozy blanket. I sat and watched the snowflakes fly through the air.
All I did was sit and pay attention. The tension in my body dissipated and my breathing slowed down. I felt like I was observing a sacred ritual of nature that left me in awe. It was not prayer with words but rather prayer with my eyes and my whole body.
Winter, perhaps the first time in my adult life, is changing me on the inside. I feel these words of Wendell Berry’s poem, “The Cold”, gently unwinding my spirit:
How exactly good it is to know myself in the solitude of winter.
With all this reflecting on winter and what is teaching me, I have been playing with some winter poems in my journal. Here is one I have been working on. I hope you enjoy it!
A Winter Psalm
Cold and wet like twinkling diamonds
as you fly through the sky.
Landing soft upon the ground
I can’t hear you but I watch.
Whirling in the wind
sometimes heavy
and sometimes soft.
These winter months, this snow
has something to teach me.
To slow down like snow
to move gently like snow.
Snow says, come watch at the window
in awe of teeny tiny flakes dancing in the sky.
Snow says, stay inside and be cozy
with wool socks and fleece blankets.
Snow says, come outside
play and be silly like a little child
full of wonder.
Snow says, slow down
rest
just be.
The cold world outside my window
is changing me.
Calling me to rest
stillness.
The solitude of winter
of snow
is a gentle invitation
renewing my spirit.
Nature is giving me clues
on how to live.
Winter things
If you’re feeling inspire by the season to read some poetry around winter, check this list out for some ideas. It might be a great place to start!
Snoop at the Winter Olympics - Snoop Dogg at the Winter Olympics is making the Olympics! Okay the athletes too, but all his content is hysterical and it just makes you smile. More of this vibe in 2026!
Learning to Luge - Did you know that Muskegon, MI is one of the four places in the United States that has a luge track?
Last weekend, we had family visiting and decided to visit the park for the first time. Travis and I have yet to try the luge, but we’re excited to try it during the current winter games! Hopefully we are more successful than Snoop on a sled.
Writing things
I had a piece published yesterday with the National Catholic Reporter about the latest Bruce Springsteen single and why it is the sacred work of liturgy. It is a good day when I can connect The Boss to spiritual realities.
I have two other pieces coming out in the next month. One for Busted Halo on what the Catholic Church can better do for divorced Catholics and one for our diocesan magazine on surrender.
May the week be good to you, friends!
Patty
What a beautiful poem. Love the idea of winter/snow as a gentle invitation...