December Reflections

December Reflections

December is a time to reflect as another year draws to its close.

Nature has crafted it as a time of peace and silence,

A time to slow down the pace we’ve kept since early spring.

As the world outside goes dormant, there is little to do

here in our modern lives.

Once upon a time there was wood to chop and carry,

Game to hunt and prepare;

The ever ongoing round of baking, roasting, stewing, frying

percolating, brewing,

To keep families comforted and fed.

Perhaps children to entertain and instruct by candlelight.

But now most of that is optional.

There is a gadget to

replace each and every well worn task.

We are free to do as we will;

To write, to paint, to craft, to read, to visit,

To plant the seeds of a new life in a new year;

To dig up the roots of past plantings and examine them yet again.

Or simply to sit in peace and silence,

In the glow of those candles

we lit by our own hands and mind;

And simply

Reflect.

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2013

“Seeing through to essential nature is the window of enlightenment.”

                                           Hakuun Yasutani Roshi

About woodlandgnome

Lifelong teacher and gardener.

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