EMBRACING THE GRAY (Read & Reflect #2)
It’s December in New England. One can easily make December all BLAH. How can we also find the beauty?
It’s December in New England. The majority of the trees are naked or wearing the equivalent of one sock with a hole in the big toe. Evergreens endure, but there is little color to be found. Even the warm glow of the sun is fleeting as it rises at 7:00 and sets shortly after 4:00.
The greenery and life once flanking the side of the road is replaced by trash carelessly discarded among dead leaves.
It is nearly impossible to avoid the thoughts that instinctively appear.
This time of year SUCKS. Everything is DEAD. People SUCK. Who throws trash on the ground like that?!
December is tempting to write off as all BLAH with no beauty.
However, mere awareness of that thinking trap allows for glimpses of scenes unavailable in July.
The fallen leaves and hibernating plants reveal not only trash, but a rock wall tucked a few steps off the road and a make-shift walkway; both small secrets that activate imagination.
It’s a reminder that we are called to live in the gray. The space between BLAH and beauty that allows us to see glimpses of both. Almost nothing in life is ALL one thing and NOTHING of another. December in New England is no exception.
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Ideas for Reflection:
Please share your thoughts in the comments if you feel called to share.
Where are you only seeing the BLAH in your life?
What areas of your life is easiest for you to embrace the gray? What areas are the hardest?
What benefits could come from courageously living in the gray?