Snow

It will be snowing here in Boston today into tomorrow. A foot or more of accumulated snow is expected. This is not startling news. It is January. We get snow.

The snow brings a wonderful calm to the streets. The usually buzz of city white noise dims low. Small house sounds, like a squeaking floor board, seem loud. The light coming through the windows is weak and white. It creates a dreamy atmosphere in familiar rooms. 

These days of snow are precious to me. My enthusiasm for them is tempered with anticipated aches from shoveling walk, driveway and patio. But even the process of clearing snow down to pavement has a tremendous meditative effect on me. The weight of countless water crystals on the shovel stimulates thoughts of the countless stars in the Universe. Each crystal, I often think, is an amazing kaleidoscopic piece of symmetry, so easy to ignore in the mass of a snow bank, like the individual beauty of any living creature in a crowded population.