Tao people live close to nature.
Their actions flow from the heart.
Tao Te Ching, 8
Late January. Winter in the garden. Summer’s tomatoes are gone. The vibrant autumn leaves, now brittle and brown, crunch under my feet. Bare branches reach up to a cold gray sky. My garden is sound asleep. Rose bushes pruned back and dormant, cut back to bare canes. Yet in the garden each season has its own gifts, its own beauty.
This is contemplative time, when nature pauses to withdraw to its roots, storing up energy for a new season of growth. This pause is vital. In what is called the “chill factor,” apple and other deciduous fruit and nut trees must have a certain number of days below 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) in order to blossom and set fruit.
Our lives, too, have their cycles and seasons. Contemplative time is essential for growth. January’s days are short, gray and overcast, and darkness falls early. If you’re exhausted from rushing through all the holiday activities, trying to keep up with work demands and New Year’s resolutions, take time now to pause and reflect on the quiet beauty of this contemplative season.
Make yourself a cup of tea at the end of the day.
- As you hold the cup in your hands,
- Breathe in its warmth and fragrance.
- Sip the tea slowly.
- Be still.
- Take a deep breath and slowly breath out, releasing the remnants of last year’s demands and obligations.
- Return to center,
- Preparing your heart for new insights, new growth
- To blossom in the days to come.
Namaste,
Diane