LAKE VIEW, N.Y. — We tend to focus on winter as if the season is nothing more than a blizzard of hardship.
But put aside this winter of discontent, and you will find a world of great beauty and healing, a season to be embraced and to live with a sense of renewal, not apprehension.
"It all starts with a willingness to make friends with winter. Don't have winter as your enemy," explained Sandy Geffner of Earth Spirit Educational Services.
"She's tough, you'll never win. Don't fight the cold. Dress properly, breathe, loosen up the shoulders, and enjoy the rigors of the season."
The slumber of winter is a way that nature helps us to restore both our body and mind.
"Traditionally, in Indigenous cultures, it's the time for story telling in this part of the world. It's the time for learning about your people, it's a time about taking care of one another, supporting your family, supporting your community, hunkering down," Geffner says.
Though winter's face can be harsh and ugly when struggling through its challenges, its countenance can also be quite beautiful.
Geffner believes few things are as dazzling as a snow covered winter landscape.
"Every season has its beauty, every season has its wonders, and to miss any season, you know, removes the possibility of immersing yourself in those beauties and wonders," Geffner said.
So whether it be hiking, snowshoeing, birding, or anything else, getting out in the winter is not only a great New Year's resolution, it's a necessity.
"Anything that takes you outdoors is enabling you to reconnect to something that is truly a part of us all, it's primal," Geffner said.
If you would like to learn more about Earth Spirit Educational Services, click here.