There have been countless moments this week where I wonder why on earth I decided to go to school in the Midwest. “I did this to myself,” I can be heard muttering as I pull on hundreds of layers every morning. “Why oh why did I not apply to more schools in California?” Every time I leave Lewis I assume the winter-walking stance: shoulders hunched, chin tucked into my chest, eyes squinted and hat pulled low to my eyebrows.
However, as much as my cheeks may burn and my fingers freeze from the wind chill that’s colder than the temperature of the Arctic Circle, I have been working on finding moments of joy in the cold. As much as the perma-cloud and the constant cold make me want to hibernate, it’s important to me that I stay aware of the beauty crystallized throughout frozen mornings. This morning, I woke up, went about my morning routine and wrote down a list of things that sparked joy.
After writing this list, I can honestly say that, although I did leave Lewis with the same hunched winter-walking stance as usual, I didn’t feel nearly as resentful of the climate as I usually do. Instead, I was reminded to observe the world around me through a filter of gratitude. After all, even though it is inconvenient for me to walk from Lewis to O’Shag every morning in below zero weather, it is nothing compared to the people who are most profoundly affected by this cold snap: the forgotten and the homeless.
15 Moments of Joy on a Cold Morning
1) Waking up before your alarm and shimmying back into your blanket cocoon
2) Peppermint tea in your favorite mug
3) A hot shower and nice smelling lotion
4) Pulling on thick socks and your softest, most oversized sweater
5) Frost on the window in intricate patterns
6) The scarf that your sister made for you last Christmas, long enough to wind around your neck and nose
7) Stepping outside, fully awake with the chill on your cheeks
8) Gratitude that you have always had a warm place to come from and a warm place to go to
9) Snowflakes falling like dancers
10) The perfect song for the morning
11) Your dragon breath in the air
12) Campus stirring
13) Rosy sky
14) A dog wearing booties!
15) O’Shag, warm and enveloping you with good friends and great books