Mid-November in Ontario often brings a mixed bag of weather patterns. As Canadians, I like to think it's what makes us who we are. It can be sunny in the morning at a balmy 10 degrees and by the afternoon, the sky can throw sleet, snow and freezing ice pellets in our direction. Of course, we can complain until we are blue in the face (as true Canadians will) but we all know it's not going to change a thing. Mother nature will be who she is-- by both blessing us with mild summer air in August while throwing blizzards into the mix when we least expect it come October.
With this year in particular I have been keeping my eye on and asking local Sudburians about our "normal", because as a southern boy, I just haven't experienced a true Northern Ontario winter. I've been told that last year was rather warm and that this year I need to expect the worst... perhaps it is good that I will be moving back to southern Ontario come the end of the year as I am not a fan of snow.
EDIT: February 27, 2018 - I am now in Wellington Region*
As the weather sits in the background, I'm reminded of our constant back and forth relationship that we all have with the winds of change in our lives. Because of my work as a therapist, people reach out to me as they are amid life transitions. Couples are getti
ng married, daughters lose their fathers, workers quit their jobs. The list is endless as people feel pushed and shoved like moving parts in a pinball machine. It's downright heartbreaking but at the same time I'm continually surprised by the human spirit as it pushes towards resilience. A part of me wishes that I could prescribe a magical pill that would make the pain to just stop... yet at the same time, I'm drawn to the mantra that if we don't prepare for the worst we'll be swept up by the waves and carried off into sea.
Keeping this in mind, we can either choose to fight the change (as we are accustomed to in our western world) or accept the change for what it is and embrace the suffering as a part of the journey. This my friends is much easier said that done. When we learn to accept the change that comes, while even allowing negative feelings to exist during the process, we can come to anticipate that winter will come and that winter will one day end. Eventually the snow melts and the motorcycle rides down the highway once again.
Change is inevitable. But nothing lasts forever-- both our blessings and our sorrow. And as a romantic, I am a firm believer that there is hope, that there is beauty and that tears eventually dry to make way for the smiles that crack beneath the surface.
Yet in the wake of the coming storm, we buckle down, we prepare ourselves and we anticipate the winter that lies ahead of us.
Until Next Time,