Rosanne Bostonian

December 14, 2022

The Snow Grinch

Central Park in the snow

I’ve never been a big fan of snow. I don’t ski nor snowboard (God forbid), and the shoveling and travel hazards have been exhausting and scary. On the surface, snow is fraught with trials and tribulations. Walking my dog in the snow has resulted in several butt surfing episodes that are ever more daunting in my 60s. He looks at me after a slip and fall as if to say, “And you think it’s smart to walk on two legs?!” But even I, The Snow Grinch, have come to appreciate a few things about the white stuff.

When the light hits new snow, there are myriads of tiny reflections coming from each of the trillions of flakes. If you look really closely you can see the unique hexagonal forms comprising the mass of white. Sort of like we humans who resemble a crowd at first glance, then each having a complex tangle of DNA and experiences that make us incredibly unique while being “one.”

I was wondering why a “White Christmas” is particularly appealing. Maybe it’s an excuse to stay put, not run around from mall to party, back to mall? At this time of year, the inner longing for time with ourselves is drowned out by the need to look engaged and celebratory. We reject our own company and then try to make up for that rejection by being invited and accepted by others. Yet, because the true need is for an inner peace we can be left exhausted and depressed. We make the classic error of searching “out there” for what is only available “in here.”

Rosanne, The Snow Grinch then dug a little deeper…

I came up with a vision of the silent blanket of white frosting on every surface quieting the outer noise. Snow creates the stillness and the repose of every living thing. I saw in my mind’s eye the emphatic white articulation of branches and bushes, rooftops and fences. Stillness and quiet.

The holidays at this time of year all seem to celebrate light in the darkness, charity and universal love, self-accountability and purification. These objectives seem to invite us in as well as “out.”

We humans tend to be noise makers. We create explosions, blow horns and holler at midnight of a New Year dawning, play loud music and seem to create lots of movement. We build hard surfaces that amplify noise and interfere with the calming of sound and energy. We talk too much and say too little. We tend to dread stillness because it exposes what is unfinished within us. Much of what is communicated through love comes in quiet moments.

I still don’t particularly look forward to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride on snowy roads, but I will wish you a “White Christmas” with or without snow. If there is no snow, no literal outer blanket of stillness to embrace you, may you find it within yourself. May the “still, quiet voice” whisper that all is well and may we all “sleep [and live] in heavenly peace.”

Much love, Rosanne (aka, “The Snow Grinch”)

Related Posts

the golden mean - shaking hands for a compromise

The Golden Mean

By Rosanne Bostonian | December 16, 2020

As 2020 winds down (Lord have mercy), it is more and more apparent that no extreme, whether conservative or liberal, will serve this nation.  What will serve us all is knowing when to favor individual freedom and knowing when to pull in the reins of compliance and lead through crisis. We are creatures of community.…

Making a deal

What is a “Deal”?

By Rosanne Bostonian | November 21, 2020

Although the current political climate is disturbing and disruptive, it is still useful. Exposed is the long-hidden underbelly of ego and manipulation that used to be called “back room politics.” Now, the back room has transparent windows and we can see into the proverbial smoke-filled rooms where wheeling and dealing takes place. A “deal” in…

Wearing masks for Covid 19 protection

Mother Nature

By Rosanne Bostonian | October 19, 2020

Our narcissism in the face of Nature’s fury has again brought us to our knees! As we watch those who have not realized that humility is a vital part of getting along fall prey to the pandemic, a great service is being offered. Those who aren’t fans of our president are saying “Aha! You deserve…

Bargains - sale signs

Bargains…

By Rosanne Bostonian | October 2, 2020

The marketing approach of many businesses involves touting bargains.  The notion of 25% to 50% off is designed to woo us into buying mode. We are supposed to take our stimulus money and buy, buy, buy! The problem is that the stuff they want us to buy, like new windows, landscaping, patio sets and new…

open door

The Lessons of 2020

By Rosanne Bostonian | August 26, 2020

There is no doubt that our human minds would not select the challenges we are facing. The layer of unfamiliarity and suffering can either make us victims or open our eyes (20/20). Victimhood is disempowering. It says we are small and incapable and that world events are turning against us.  What if these magnified events…

Tree uprooted by storm

No More Right Fighting!

By Rosanne Bostonian | August 15, 2020

High winds call for flexibility. The recent storm, Isiais, blew the heck out of trees. The most rigid trees lost branches or met their demise. As a result, “power was down.” This is a sign that holding a set position is not always the best strategy to weather hard times. Our current national posturing of…

woman wearing a face mask

“When Irish Eyes are Smiling”

By Rosanne Bostonian | July 29, 2020

Masked life requires more eye expression.  Are you finding that people are averting their gazes when you try to make eye contact? I am trying to practice eye smiling in the mirror.  I don’t have a drop of Irish blood in me, as far as I know, but I get an “A” for effort!  So…

holding hands for peace

The All or None Awareness

By Rosanne Bostonian | July 6, 2020

We are in a time when all of us will make it, or none of us will make it.  The days of one tribe against another for survival are ending in noisy, traumatic drama. There was a time when tribal warfare was the prevailing fact of the day.  If my tribe invaded the hunting ground,…

Empty theater chairs before act two

Act Two

By Rosanne Bostonian | June 18, 2020

When you have gone to the theater and an “act” is over, there is intermission.  Everyone gets out of their seats, stretches and moseys to the rest rooms and refreshments, discussing what they have just seen and heard.  These last three months have felt like a long intermission. There have been debates, discussions, disagreements and…

Tiger Face Mask

The Versatile Mask

By Rosanne Bostonian | June 9, 2020

The cortex of the human brain has no limits.  It will continue to bob and weave through wars, recessions and pandemics.  We are irrepressible thinkers, chewing on past, present and future in circuitous and sometimes foolish ways. As a devotee of foolishness as relief from bad news, I have been observing the versatility of face…