Go ahead and play the song while you read 🙂

It’s been such a mild winter this year, and I am so happy about that!! I am not at all a fan of winter, and I am definitely not a fan of the snow.  When I lived in Pollock Pines (a town close to Lake Tahoe) we would get buried in the snow. We had the longest winters there, the snow would fall from October until March. I HATE being cold, and tromping through the snow to get to the school bus really sucked. I dreaded the coming of winter and always prayed that maybe this year it wouldn’t come. But of course it always came with a vengeance. One winter day, as per usual I sat  by the fireplace content to listen to the crackling of the fire. And as the warmth of the fire began to lull me to sleep, something unusual happened. I looked out the window and found myself admiring the snow for the first time. Instead of being irritated by it, I found myself falling in love with its beauty. It seemed unearthly and magical and perfect. So still, so lovely and so pure. I found myself wishing at that moment that the world could stay that way forever.

And that is what inspired me to write this poem.

SNOWFALL

Brilliant bright snow falls, engulfing all that lies before it,

Snow blankets all that’s beneath, as the world becomes still.

All else has faded away, taken the form of snow itself.

I have seen these roads and homes long before the snowflakes made this place their bed,

It was ugly, it was dull, it was dark and full of dirt…

But now snow has fallen on this old town and transformed it into purity.

The scene before me now stands purely white, in shocking beauty.

And in perfect silence, as if in reverence of its shield of snow,

The snow continues to pour as if in determined purpose.

As if determined to cover all that was naked.

Enveloping all things, as far as my eye can see,

It rains down, until nothing is left untouched by snow.

And even then, it continues on!

Embracing every roof, every tree, every car.. gently embracing everything in its path.

The snow continues to fall,

in excess it spills over,

It piles up round the base and sides of everything that is exposed.

Finally the whiteness has wrapped the world in a protecting and comforting blanket.

And even then, the snow continues to fall..

Snow so white and glorious, it blinds my transfixed eyes.

The snow falls on, abounding in excess

What a privilege to behold its beauty!!

As snowfalls, compensating for our weakness

And covers our nakedness..

It whispers to me..

“Am I not a perfect example of the Father who pours himself out unreservedly over His children?”

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(Image by Thomas Kinkade)

Here is a poem I wrote, set to some background music. Enjoy!

THE SNAIL

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I am alive, I am new,

I crawl over the soil propelled by curiosity.

I pave my very own trail.

I am unique.

I wander thru the autumn leaves on an adventure!

I am tender, I am vulnerable in every way

I am free to discover, to risk, to try.

I climb up a flower to revel in its beauty,

But I fall…

I am exposed to the brutality of the cold, unsympathetic ground.

I face the pain, without barrier

Who am I?

I am now bruised, And partially shattered.

So I slide inside this shell on my back.

Ahh, I am protected.

Therefore my wounds begin to heal,

I am finished, but my scar looms above me like a heavy gray cloud.

Hesitantly I leave my shell,

I am overjoyed to breathe the fresh air, and smell the lush green

grass, to see the beautiful, bright sky.

How I missed the feel of the warm soft earth beneath me!

So I continue my journey, deciding to follow a pre laid trail in hopes of avoiding disaster.

As I journey along the ground, a large figure looms ahead,

I am trusting…

I am young. I move towards it.

It screams at me, with a fierce threatening tone I don’t comprehend, and lunges at me in hunger.

I am afraid, I recoil inside my shell

Who am I?

It’s dark in here, complete silence.

I am safe, I am alone.

So I wait it out. Is it gone?

Days go by…

I am cramped in here, unable to grow,

I am suffocating.

Is it safe? I stick my head into the outside world, as fresh oxygen rushes into my lungs.

And back in I go, as paranoia sets in.

In the dark of night, I crawl out to find a meal,

I am famished, I am full. Back in I go.

Who am I now?

I hear the faint sound of an old friend,

But I don’t leave the shell, why?

I am taught by experience not to trust.

To avoid pain at all costs.

I am lonely and it’s soo dark in here..

Yet I am protected.

I paint a smile on the outside of my shell, to trick nature into believing I’m still outside.

Who am I?

I am molding, I am in hiding

These two worlds begin to collide.

I no longer know the difference.

There is no dividing line, it’s all blended into grey.

My skin is molding to fit my shell,

I am becoming just as calloused as the walls I hide behind.

We are one.

I begin to miss the sunshine, as hunger pangs overwhelm me.

I long to feel something, hear something, see something….anything!

Can anyone hear me?

I am lonely.

I am sabotaging my own efforts for freedom

I desire to feel life once more!

But oh the horrid things that might prevail against me are

enormously overwhelming.

I mustn’t leave.

In here, there is nothing new to discover, nothing to feel, only lifeless solitude.

My own solitude.

so I mustn’t leave this shell…

I don’t quite remember how I got in here,

It’s much too dark in here,

But, well……

my eyes have adjusted.

Who am I?

I am the human experience.

 

I think we all experience this on some level and although we learn a lot from the experiences, the pain and fear can keep us isolated. I want to give you all permission to come out of your shells, let your inner child come alive. Do something that normally scares you. Be brave and let your self live. And I mean really live! Do something that you have always dreamed of doing, but thought you could never do.