This past weekend the snow finally came. For two days it fell slowly from the sky, covering our green island in white and coaxing all of us inside. Presenting the perfect opportunity to wrap up in a wool blanket, drink tea and read.
Yesterday I finished one of the most enjoyable books that has found it's way into my hands. Maria Semple's 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' is clever, laugh out loud funny and incredibly heartfelt. I truly loved everything about it.
"That's right,' she told the girls. 'You are bored. And I'm going to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it's boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. The sooner you learn it's on you to make life interesting, the better off you'll be.”
Besides the bittersweet end of Bernadette's story and my imaginary adventure through Antarctica, I also discovered 'Darling' a magazine dedicated to the art of being a woman. I encourage you to visit their website and if you happen to come across the publication in print, look through it's beautiful pages. The essays resonate with me and I felt inclined to share this
excerpt from Darling editor Sarah Dubbeldam's essay on winter:
A clarity. a quieting of pure simplicity descends upon us in winter, as if the thousands of carefully crafted crystals falling in unison whisper, "silence and ease", as they paint a beautiful array of white upon white - a reminder to us that less is truly more. In this uncluttered space we are reminded of how far we've wandered and are invited to put away our personal adornments and ask, "Who am !?" once again. We may find a mixture of fear and strength, sadness and delight, unrest and peace, as each woman flights her own war. But the beauty is found in daily grace, where we pick up our own brush, dip it in white and repaint the canvas once more. It's in this place of messiness and renewal that we learn to see our core and stand in awe of our pure humanity, a miracle and a gift.
The truth remains, our value never changes - we are not solely what we own, what we look like, what we do, what we wear or where we go - we are each worthy of honor and respect right where we stand.
