Hours of Darkness, Promise of Light - Exploring the Metaphor of Winter

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, todayHumans, as part of the natural world, do not exist
at 12:47pm EST is our winter solstice - thein an either/or universe. We live in a both/and
precise moment when our half of the globe isworld. Our struggles and deep grief are painful and
tilted as far from the sun as it will go.nutrient for richer, healthier lives; our moments of
For those of us in the far north, this time of yearstagnancy and (what feels like) zero forward
can be a tough one to wade through. The daysmovement or progress are sometimes also times
are short, the arc of daylight seems to barely riseof much-needed rest and preparation for the
above the horizon before ducking down again, andnext transformation; and days or weeks that feel
the sun often sits smothered behind a layer ofhopeless are simultaneously filled with promise -
clouds. There is the occasional howling of blizzards,and we can know that, at some point, we'll kneel
but other than that, things sit quite still, stifleddown, look a little closer, and a whole universe of
under snow and frost. On the days I walk out ofcolor will emerge in front of our eyes. The
the house and am met by a temperature that'sseasons tell us: Where you are today is okay.
below zero without the wind chill, I think, "Who inEverything has its time.
their right mind chooses to live here?"We are free to give ourselves permission to
Using the metaphor of seasons to explore andacknowledge whatever we are going through with
clarify the human experience is not new by anyhonesty, at at the same time, we can hold the
means - but it is still a powerful and useful way totruth that this moment is not the final word.
understand the cycles of emotion that are aSometimes people ask me why I chose the
normal component of being alive.name Winter Oak, and this is why: because
Part of why the natural world works so well as aWinter's stillness calls me to recognize the Spring
metaphor is that, like us, it is complex and richin everything. I look at a bare oak tree (my logo
and cyclical, full of paradox. It allows us to holdis an actual tree that lives by Minnehaha Creek in
seemingly opposite things in the same space atMinneapolis, a huge oak that spans two lots), and I
the same time, recognizing that both are true:know what that living thing is made of -- I see a
The leaves that have fallen to the ground aresturdy trunk and know the roots go deep; I see
actually nutrient for the soil that will allow newthe muscular branches that have withstood
things to grow - so they hold both death and lifethousands of storms, droughts and diseases; I
simultaneously. Certain animals sleep through thesee the bird and squirrel nests and know that it is
season both because they need the rest andcapable of nourishing and sustaining life; it is not
because they are conserving energy for a newwithout scars, sure, but it is full of stories, and
season - so what is inactive is also constantlywhat I see is something truly alive and undeniably
growing and making progress. Snow appearsbeautiful.
white to us on first glace, but if we look closelyI have been through many winters in my own life
on a sunny winter day, what we see are actually- actual and metaphorical - and in this work, I
millions of colors reflected and refracted - sooften meet people who are experiencing a winter
what seems to only have one possibility actuallyof some sort in some part of their lives. Far from
holds many possibilities, depending on how we lookfeeling defeated, I am profoundly hopeful in these
at it and how closely we pay attention.encounters, because this is where we get to see
The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Neils Bohrall that we are capable of. Right now, it is dark. At
describes paradox this way: "The opposite of a12:47pm, we are the farthest from the sun we
correct statement is a false statement. But thecould possibly be. But, you know, at 12:48pm, we
opposite of a profound truth may be anotherstart the journey back.
profound truth."