When Winter Weather Wears You Down

      I wouldn't say I'm exactly envious of you if you live in the coldest parts of the country this year, but almost. I like cold weather, and I'm glad to say we're at last getting some here in southern Oregon. 

      I can remember some Oregon winters that were very winterish indeed, and I can sympathize with you, if your inner child is becoming peevish and petulant and you feel yourself slipping into winter doldrums. But hold on! Don't give in! Arm yourself with these winter survival tips:

      (1) Refuse to succumb to the dominant paradigm that gray equals gloom. Make a study of the sky, and you'll find a plethora of variations on gray clouds. They're striped and brindled, splotched and rippled, distinctly layered or seamlessly smeared in a watercolor wash, white to dark and a thousand shades in between. Find new words for gray – platinum, pearl, steel, taupe, but stay away from dirty words like ash, charcoal, and smoke.

      (2) Never elevate your hopes. Just because you see stars at 9:00 pm doesn't mean you'll see sunshine tomorrow. Just because the eastern sky is clear at 8:00 in the morning doesn't mean those sweeping gray clouds from the south won't obliterate the blue by noon. Each time you leave survival mode, you are in danger of slipping deeper into doldrums, and with each slip you'll have a harder time regaining good humor. Take any slice of pale blue sky, any glimpse of well-focused moon as a gift. Savor it, enjoy it, and remind your inner child that it's not polite to ask for more than is given.

      (3) Make the indoors bright and cheerful. Keep the house clean; depression has no better friend than disorder and diet. Indulge the senses. Simmer luscious stews on top of the stove, and bake often not only because baking emits good smells and leads to pleased palates, but also because a hot oven warms the house the way a good hug warms the heart.

      (4) Use escape items. Books or movies can lift you out of foul weather, whereas other escapes don't so much remove you from winter as remove winter from your spirit. You can't be glum if you're making notecards for a friend, for instance, or if you've lost yourself in working out the intricacies of a Bach sarabande on the guitar. You could be immersed for hours, well out of reach of the wet enstranglement of winter, but it's also a delicious feeling to return to the moment, listen to the tap-dance on the roof, and be glad you're here, now, in this Oregon (in my case), in this winter.

      (5) Enjoy it! Walk in it; notice its details. Rain shimmers as it drones down. The raindrum plays polyrhythms on leaves, roof, earth. Mists veil and then reveal mountains. Little round clouds are nosed about by hummocks like balls tossed by seals. Relish the sponginess of the earth as you walk. Winter is full of sensualities. Don't miss them!

      (6) Keep heart. Just as surely as the planet turns around the sun, winter turns to spring. It has never been otherwise.