Photo: Elisabetta Grondona, Stock.xchng
I’ve noticed that being snowed in has led to me being more relaxed and worrying less; I’ve had no alternative but to stay at home and so don’t feel guilty or like I ought to be doing something else.
In the South East of England we have just had what is for us heavy snow fall (about 8 inches/20 cm). This has meant that most of us have had to reduce our journeys for the last couple of days, only venturing out for essentials. In a strange way I think that the snow has had the same effect on us as when the email goes down; at first we scurry round complaining, ‘What will we do if we can’t send/receive email? Disaster!’ A short while later, people start talking to each other and doing all the things they wanted to do before they were chained to their screen. We then discover to our surprise that we are, in some ways, more productive without email.
It seems to me that a similar thing happens in the snow, at first we panic, ‘What will we do if we can’t drive all over the place? Disaster!’ Then we all start taking time to just look out of the window and really see the view, or be with our families or closest ones, talking to each other and doing the shopping for neighbours (even if it is a townscape).
I think that this sort of stopping and being present in the moment (which is sometimes called mindfulness) is especially difficult for those of us that are prone to worry, but really beneficial if we can do so even for a short time. I’m reminded of the poem by William Henry Davis:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
William Henry Davies, Songs Of Joy and Others
The snow has certainly been unwelcome, with so may people being stranded and chaos on roads and airports, but perhaps there is a silver lining for those of us who need to take time to relax in our lives that are sometimes too full of care.
- What is this life if, full of care,
- We have no time to stand and stare.
- No time to stand beneath the boughs
- And stare as long as sheep or cows.
- No time to see, when woods we pass,
- Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
- No time to see, in broad daylight,
- Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
- No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
- And watch her feet, how they can dance.
- No time to wait till her mouth can
- Enrich that smile her eyes began.
- A poor life this if, full of care,
- We have no time to stand and stare.
Beating Worry 