Miscellanea from the Lost Quarter and beyond.

Dress Accordingly

Winter is the most honest of seasons. Intent laid bare to the bone. The universe is unforgiving, this part of it especially. Dress accordingly.  

The people who talk of the magic of a white Christmas, the wonder of snow, do so because it is infrequent where they are from. A rare occurrence whose arrival does seem portentous. And like any spell, it will pass and the world will be set to rights. Here we know better. Here we know the winter is a conqueror and we its subjects, that the wind has a bite to draw blood. 

Which is not to say there is not beauty to be found, but it is a forbidding kind. There is a silence that comes with snow, especially as it is falling, a hush settling upon the world. Everything distant and still. The way ahead is unbroken, no footprints to guide us. We can look back and watch our footsteps slowly vanish. 

That is the truth of the universe. All our furious, burning effort will come to nothing in the end. All our monuments will be covered over and our words will be forgotten beneath the swirling drifts of time. And we will find ourselves distant and still. 

There is a comfort in that understanding. All that matters is who we are now and what we do together. Come closer. Stay warm.