View from the window...halfway there

The beginning of February marks our progress through the winter. Imbolc, a Gaelic traditional festival originating in Ireland and Scotland, celebrates a rough halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc or Imbolg, means 'in the belly', and refers to the pregnancy of ewes which in the natural order of things, is a necessity for the arrival of spring lambs. It celebrates the fact that the 'dark' of winter is approaching an end, and that while not visible, life is stirring in the earth which will, before too long, produce green things.

People who first celebrated this festival lived by the patterns of the seasons. They were in tune with the natural progression of a life dependent on the living things around them. The spring sun and rain which brought seeds to life was equally as important as the winter which allowed the land to rest and revive. But survival through the winter was not a given, so having made it half way, was worthy of celebration, especially as now hope and anticipation were torches to hold against the darkness until the spring arrived.

And has this not been a truly dark and extraordinary time; a time of separation, isolation, tension and fear. A celebration which marks that time continues to pass, that life continues and that spring will come, is particularly reassuring right now.

I must note however, that Mother Nature in celebration of Imbolc, unleashed a particularly vicious winter storm on the Eastern seaboard of the US. Those folks may not be feeling especially thankful or even note that they have reached this day of import. While their resilience is well-documented, I imagine more than one citizen has turned his face to the sky and said, 'Seriously?!?!' It probably seems like just one thing too many right now.

Here today, the sky is blue  and you can notice that the days are starting to get a little longer. The outline of the branches in the maple across the street is changing. There are buds appearing. I see that the local squirrel population is goofier than usual. There are more high-speed pursuits in progress; instead of trucks in loose convoys, it is more like tandem truck-trailers, so close are some noses to certain tails.

For North Americans, today is the day that we hope our weather predicting groundhogs will tell us that an early spring is in our collective future.

What ever that outcome is, winter is not over. Mother Nature is capricious and unpredictable, so what might still come our way is unknown.  But it is half-way over. The earth continues to turn and the seasons will in time change. This is cause to celebrate.