Cozy Winter Textures

During Christmas and New Year's I found so many opportunities for picture taking - cookies, always one of my favorite subjects; the colors of a knitting project in the morning sun; long walks through the woods after hearty Christmas meals. Though there were family pictures and landscapes, my eye was always drawn to the winter textures.

There was something soft and light about all the textures, despite the cold. The sun was always angled, and its golden glow caught tufts and brambles and fields lying fallow. Even in the tangles of bare branches I kept seeing softness. Summer, though it is deep green and many-leaved, is pushing outwards and upwards too urgently to be soft in the way that winter is. The winter textures invite rest and breath – centeredness.

I don't know if you're making any New Year's Resolutions. New Year's, for me, is usually a time when I get a hankering for a new adventure. My mind races ahead to begin planning projects and dreaming of accomplishments, and loops back to see if I've caught up with myself. This year I'm resolving to treat myself softly, to step back from the whirlwind of the City of Perpetual Motion and take better, more restful care of myself.

I think that the best New Year's resolutions come from a desire to treat ourselves softly. Lately I've had several conversations with a Jesuit colleague about a retreat that we're planning. I mentioned that I wanted to talk to the retreat goers about praying for freedom to make good decisions, a foundation of Ignatian discernment. My colleague answered that being free from fear, worry, pride, and so on allow us to be free to be truly ourselves. He said that authenticity - being true to ourselves and the unique way that God calls each one of us - is the path to holiness.

So resolve to treat yourself softly. (Not that you've asked for my advice!) Be true to yourself. Don't jam yourself into new habits that aren't right for you or new projects that don't suit you. Treat yourself kindly and let yourself flourish! Take a deep breath of the soft and cozy winter!