I loved this quote from the book “ Big Panda and Tiny Dragon” by James Norbury, when the two characters, a big panda and a tiny dragon are walking that says,

“I am so tired,” said Tiny Dragon.

Big Panda paused. “Winter is a time when nature withdraws, rests, and gathers its energy for a new beginning. We are allowed to do the same, my little friend.”

Or this classic,

Robert Frost: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

Winter is always a frustrating time. If you are like me, you are uncomfortably cold all the time. The light is minimal and your energy lacks.

The poems above remind me that is okay to be still. Once you act like nature, you start to open up to the possibilities of the season.

Upon reflection, some of my favorite photographs come out of winter. A time that I feel lack of inspiration or ambition due to the harshness of the great north.

Winter is monochrome to me. Colors fall off the trees, the plants sleep and the sky darkens. The world around us essentially loses color and gets covered in a monochrome blanket.

I always look forward to spring, but part of me slightly misses the stillness of the Winter.