Late Winter Magic

Ghia: 00:00:01

Hi everyone.

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This is Ghia.

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I'm this week's host of the

creative, spiritual journey podcast.

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Here we are in March.

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It's still winter or what

we might call late winter.

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This is the time of year when the

sun is especially tantalizing.

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We wear sunglasses, which

is important in the snow.

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So we don't burn our eyes.

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And it's lighter in the morning,

which is my favorite part.

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There was a time in my life when what I

wanted more than anything was for it to

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be light in the morning when I got up.

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I was a single mom.

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I was lonely.

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Financially stressed

and perpetually tired.

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And dark mornings just added to my gloom.

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I still love the growing light.

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But the darkness isn't as

disheartening as it once was.

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I'm not sure when this changed for

me, but I would guess it was sometime

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after I met a wonderful woman in Canada

who lived very close to the land.

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Surviving, almost exclusively

off what she could grow or make.

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I told her about how much

I longed for the light.

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And I will never forget her response.

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She told me that for her light

meant it was time to work.

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Living off the land.

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She had to work from sunrise to sunset

during the gardening months to make

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sure she had enough food for winter.

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When darkness finally came, it

meant the work was done and she

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could get some glorious rest.

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That's when I realized the

true cause of my melancholy.

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In my so-called modern life, I

was almost completely removed from

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the natural rhythms of the earth.

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No wonder I was sad.

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I didn't know where I was in the world.

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As I've worked to tune into the seasons,

I've learned something wonderful about

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this time of year called late winter.

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Yes, late winter is still cold and

there is still storm potential.

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And it's maddening to have spring

beckoning from around an elusive corner.

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We never quite turn.

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But I'm begging you.

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Don't give into that allure.

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Don't rush through the

last part of winter.

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Let me explain why.

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I'm going to start with a

quote from elder UQ Dorff.

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This is from his talk daily restoration.

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He says.

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As our days go.

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So go our lives.

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And next he quotes from the book

Jurassic park, which makes me laugh.

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The quote goes.

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A day is like a whole life.

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You start out doing one thing,

but end up doing something else.

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Plan to run an errand,

but never get there.

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At the end of your life,

your whole existence has the

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same haphazard quality to.

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Your whole life has the

same shape as a single day.

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Now elder UQ dwarf.

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RF continues by saying.

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Do you want to change

the shape of your life?

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Change the shape of your day.

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I love this principle.

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A day is like a little

mini clip of your life.

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And we can change our life by

changing what we do each day.

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Our days and our lives

are literally linked.

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Now.

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You have to take a leap with me here.

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For a moment.

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I want you to think about

each individual day.

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Like it has the seasons of a year.

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You go to bed in the winter when it's

dark, get up in the light or spring.

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We work during the day or summer,

we slow down in the fall or evening.

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And then we start the

cycle all over again.

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Each day is like a mini year

in relation to the light.

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Now, with this image in mind,

think about each season being

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represented by part of the day.

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Spring is morning.

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Summer is daytime fall as the evening.

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And winter is night.

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So here we are in late winter.

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What time of day is that?

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We are in the pre-dawn

hours of the morning.

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Right?

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This is one of my favorite

times of the whole day.

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I love it when I start waking

up, but I'm not quite there yet.

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And I get to roll over and snuggle

into the covers a little longer.

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But it's more than just

getting that additional sleep.

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I call this the time

of magical inspiration.

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I don't know about you, but I get

so many answers to my questions

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during this time of the morning.

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So often in the evenings, I will be

mulling over a question and can't seem

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to come up with any kind of answer.

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Then in those magical pre-dawn

hours, the answers just come to me.

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Or at least I can see things in a new

light and I see more possibilities.

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I know this is a nudge

from the holy ghost.

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There are a lot of things that

happen physiologically in the

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body that could explain why we

think clearer in the mornings.

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But God works in mysterious ways.

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Meaning in ways I can't understand.

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And in my mind, I know my answers,

my inspiration or clarity of

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thought come from the holy ghost.

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Do you experience this?

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I know other people have.

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In fact, I will never forget

reading a story about president

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Hinckley that shows this exactly.

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I'm going to quote this from an LDS

living article, entitled the revelation

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that became the Hong Kong temple.

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It says, quote.

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When president Hinckley traveled

to Hong Kong in: 1992

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potential temple sites, he felt

unsatisfied with all of them.

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We looked at one after

another, after another.

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I became very discouraged.

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He later said, The sites were so tiny in

some respects and the cost of real estate.

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So high.

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Many millions of dollars for

a little piece of ground.

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One night, he retired with no clear

understanding of how he could proceed on

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this assignment to find a temple location.

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But in the middle of the night,

he woke with an inspiration.

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Something very interesting.

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Came to my mind.

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He recorded.

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I did not hear a voice with my

natural ears, but in my mind

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there came a voice of the spirit.

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It said.

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Why are you worried about this?

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You have a wonderful piece

of property where the mission

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home and small chapel stand.

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They're in the very heart of Calloun in

the location with the best transportation.

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Build a building of several stories.

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It can include a chapel and

classrooms on the first two floors.

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And a temple on the top

two or three floors.

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I relaxed and went back

to sleep and quote.

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I know here, he says

the middle of the night.

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But what is the middle of the night?

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Really?

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The early morning, the pre-dawn.

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If we put this magical time and

perspective with the year, it's where

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we are right now in late winter, right

before the light of spring or morning.

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Late winter has the potential to

be a magical time of inspiration.

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Are you following me here?

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I hope so.

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If a day resembles the seasons of a

year, that the year resembles a day.

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I know for some people,

this idea is stretching it.

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May being more imagination than you like

to engage, but if you can see it, if you

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can relate to it, then it's beautiful.

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Here's my recommendation.

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I don't hurry through late winter.

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Linger there.

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I know spring is taunting and tempting

you, and it would be easier to rush

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through the season or wish it away.

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But that would be a waste of

such a beautiful glorious time.

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Some people call this

time of year, the womb.

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Being in the womb.

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I like to think of it as a

seed planted in the fall.

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It's roots growing all through winter and

before it pops its head out of the soil.

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There was a pause.

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That is late winter.

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That is your last

snuggle under the covers.

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And that is where we are right now.

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The plans have been made.

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The seed is ready now.

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It's time for inspiration.

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I can almost see it as a time for

a father's blessing, right before

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a child goes out into the world.

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Revel in this moment.

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I don't throw it away or rush through

it, curl up and your down comforter and

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hold onto it for a couple more weeks.

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Spring will be here soon enough.

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And besides spring is fickle.

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It doesn't always come when we

expect it, leaving us disappointed.

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Just stay in late winter until

spring has truly arrived.

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It's so much easier.

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That is my choice.

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It's a small and simple step

on this life journey and I'm

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going to take it deliberately.

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Thank you for sharing your time with me.

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If you enjoy this episode,

share it with a friend.

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That's the only way

this podcast will grow.

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Take loving care of yourself.

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Nama stay.