The February Blues

In my experience, February is the absolute worst month for many people. The holiday season is long gone, winter has been here for awhile, and it seems as though winter is never going to go away.

Of course, we know in our heads, that winter is going to go away, but in our hearts, well, it seems like another thing. To me "February Winter" is a metaphor for living through the common grayness of life.

All of us have our burdens to carry. For some, the burdens of carrying aged parents, once young, vibrant and strong, to their ultimate destiny this winter.

To others, the horrific problem of teenage children may be wearing them down. Or the unfulfilled promise of working extra hours at sometimes two and three jobs has not yet borne fruit. There are hundreds of February winters. Almost everyone has a few.

Now, in our heads, we know there is a light at the end of whatever tunnel we are in, but it is sometimes hard to believe in that light. We have been too long in the darkness.

One line has always given me hope for the soul: "Hope is the dream of a waking man." The beauty and profundity of this line are endless. We all have dreams, but some of those dreams occur when we sleep.

Dreams while we sleep we cannot control, but we can control our waking dreams. We can choose what we shall dream about when we are awake. That is within our power, and that power is the watershed dynamic in human consciousness.

If, in our waking dreams, we allow ourselves to get into visions of powerlessness, revenge, envy, futility or despair, then we shall remain forever in the month of February. On the other hand, if we consider the coming spring, empowerment, forgiveness, applause, human poetry or positive vision, then the flowers reman a future hope in our lives.

Every farmer lives this waking dream when he or she invests seeds in the soil. Our dreams are seeds, but which dreams we allow ourselves to plant make all the difference.

Plant good seeds of blooming spring. For winter shall pass, and we shall all celebrate the joy that God has in store for us.