Winter Walking with Jesus

Ghia: 00:00:04

Hi everyone.

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This is Ghia and I'm this week's host for

the creative, spiritual journey podcast.

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I want to start off with this little poem.

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My mom sent me a few days ago.

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It goes.

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The future lies before you

like a field of fallen snow.

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Be careful how you tread it

for every step will show.

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I love that.

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It creates in my mind, a

picture of the winter season.

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And it's an interesting way to

think about how and where we walk.

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Especially in the winter when

our tracks will show maybe more

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in this season than any other.

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In my quest to walk deliberately with

God, I want to live more seasonally.

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Meaning I want to live

in tune with the seasons.

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Or maybe a better way to say it

would be to tune into the seasons.

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I believe the seasons are a gift from God.

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They aren't accidental.

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When Alma was talking to Cora whore

as recorded and Alma 30, he said

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all things to note, there is a God.

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Yay.

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Even the earth and all things

that are upon the face of it.

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Yay.

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And it's motion.

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Yea.

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And also the planets, which

move in their regular form.

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Do witness that there

is a Supreme creator.

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That's beautiful.

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All things to note, there is a God.

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The beauty of the natural

world, isn't an accident.

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And for that matter, neither is the

harshness or brutality of nature.

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I love nature, mountains, desert seas,

rivers, animals, sunsets, stargazing.

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But the Earth's motion, the seasons.

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They have particularly

grabbed my attention.

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They are dynamic.

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Repetitive and predictable,

but never stagnant.

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They play into our energy, what we

eat, what time we get up, how we dress.

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They permeate our lives.

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I believe the seasons have

meaning and purpose and that

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we can use them to our benefit.

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So when I say, I want to

tune into the seasons.

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I have a bunch of thoughts about what that

means as well as expectations and goals.

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I expect this list to evolve and change.

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But right now, when I say I want to live

seasonally, here's what I'm thinking.

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As far as possible, I

want to eat seasonally.

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I want to tune into the energy of the

seasons and align my energy with them.

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I want to celebrate Christ in each season.

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I want to wonder at and

question what Christ would

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have me learn from each season.

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Especially during the particular season

of my life that I'm in right now.

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I want to find joy in the seasons by

reveling in their unique qualities.

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I want to spend as much time as

possible outside during every season.

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And I want to use the seasons to help

me better cope with and understand

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life and the changes it brings.

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I believe living seasonally as one

way, we can find God in our lives.

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So here I am in the winter season.

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And ironically, Judy bang in the

Southern hemisphere is in the summer.

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She told me this morning that

she was out picking wild zinnias,

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which is so hard for me to believe.

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So if you find yourself in a different

season from me, or if you live in a

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place without much change in the seasons,

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I hope you can transcribe or

modify what I'm talking about.

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For your circumstance.

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For example, I used to live in half moon

bay, California, which is on the coast, a

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40 minute drive south from San Francisco.

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Half moon bay is generally

somewhere between 50 and 70 degrees.

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All year round.

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And in the summer, when everyone

wants to come to the beach,

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it's always foggy and cold.

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In sort the season, there is

dramatically different from where I'm

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living right now in Southeast Utah.

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So when I say seasons, go by

the seasons where you live.

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Even next to the equator where

the daylight hours don't change.

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There are dry and wet seasons.

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Tune into those.

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But right now for me, it's winter.

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And I'm asking myself what

I'm getting from the season.

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And I have to take a deep

breath here because in my

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attempt to embrace the winter.

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I'm giving myself permission to slow

down and not be in a hurry all the time.

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To walk every day, which I love and to

heat dinner earlier and go to bed earlier.

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Both of which I find really hard.

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I'm also trying to outline a schedule

for these podcasts and I'm telling

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myself to create them spiritually first.

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But true to my nature.

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I'm finding myself freaking out.

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I'm thinking things like I

have to get these podcasts up.

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And what am I going to do

and who is going to listen?

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And do I have anything good to say?

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And, and, and.

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You get my point.

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So I'm telling myself to slow down.

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Take a deep breath.

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It's winter focus on what

the season has to share.

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Here are some of my thoughts.

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I'm looking at the season

to understand myself more.

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I believe the outside world is

reflected in my spirit and body.

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So, what do I find?

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I can already feel the days

getting longer energy is expanding.

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This gives me hope.

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My ideas, my thoughts, my dreams

have permission to expand as well.

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The earth in its infinite wisdom

is encouraging me to grow my roots.

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I don't have to grow branches

and leaves right now.

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Just the roots.

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As I look at the seasons, I also see

that they are nuanced and layered.

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One thing that adds depth and

dimension to the seasons is the moon.

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Many ancient cultures have watched,

tracked and named the moons for millennia.

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And these names cross an overlap.

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If you look around on the

internet, sometimes the January

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moon is called the snow moon.

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And in other places, the February moon.

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Is called the snow moon.

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That said, here are some of the

names for the January full moon.

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The Wolf moon.

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The snow moon.

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The storm moon and the old moon.

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All of these names represent

what the people were seeing or

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experiencing at the time of the moon.

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And those, I studied these names.

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I had the thought that I could

name the moons for myself.

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For me.

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For what I see and feel during

that moon what it represents to me.

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So the January full moon I

have named the black bear moon.

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Let me explain why.

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When I was living on the east

side of the Sierra in a little

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mountain town called mammoth lakes.

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I met a super cool man

named Steve Searles.

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Steve became a renowned black bear

expert without any formal training

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or even a high school diploma.

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He was merely a brave and daring observer.

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And one day he explained to me that

on many occasions he has climbed

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into bear dens during the winter.

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Seriously, I'm telling the truth.

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He literally climbed into

dense with bears inside.

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And what he told me is that black

bears don't sleep the whole time.

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They hibernate.

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Often they're in their dens, awake,

calm and relaxed, I suppose, but they

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play with their Cubs and roll around.

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And do bear things.

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So I have named the January

moon, the black bear moon.

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For me, it represents a period

of time that is slow and relaxed.

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Uh, home time.

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Or how about a den time?

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A time of lower energy.

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But I'm not just sleeping stuff is going

on just at a slower pace and more at home.

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Inside or in the planning spiritual phase.

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Just to be clear.

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This isn't the only thing I could

learn from the winter season, but

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it's what I have chosen to focus on.

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For the January moon during

this year and season of my life.

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You will see the difference

here in the February moon.

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The February moon is traditionally

called the snow moon.

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Ice moon store moon or hunger moon.

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Does that last one?

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Get you the hunger moon.

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A lot of people hate winter, but

how much more would you hate it?

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If you do, you were going

to be hungry as well.

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For someone like me, who

has never truly been hungry.

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Despite doing a 10 day fast at one time.

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It's hard to imagine.

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So my choice of moons is

closer to the storm moon.

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Imagine the energy created by a storm.

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This is not the quiet home energy I was

talking about with the black bear moon.

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It's fast, strong and intense.

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It requires you to get up and shovel.

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And while I know storms can back

up and seem to go on for days

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the energy they require, at least

for me seem short and intense.

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I go out and shovel, then go back inside.

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I go out and bring in a bunch of wood.

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Then go back inside.

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It's not the up at 5:00 AM and go until

: 10:00

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Even if I get a summer siesta.

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Thus, since I live in the age of

relevant comfort, my choice of names for

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the February moon is the skiers moon.

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I love to ski.

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And I can expend a lot of energy skiing.

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But I'm done and inside by four o'clock.

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It's intense, but short.

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So that's the way I've been

choosing to expend my winter energy.

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When I have things I need to do.

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I take my time.

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Plan them.

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And then in short blocks of

intense energy, I get them done.

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Theoretically, right.

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And our world where modern conveniences.

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Almost negate the seasons.

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It's not always possible

to expend my energy in this

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way, but that's my intention.

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So it's winter.

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I give myself permission to

slow down, to sleep more.

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To spend an hour talking on the

phone with my mom, if I want to.

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To make plans.

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To get my projects done in short bursts.

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To ski as much as possible.

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And tomorrow I will do a big yoga

practice to build up some heat.

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Or maybe the day after that.

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I give myself permission to decide later.

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This world, this earth is sacred to me.

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I believe in tuning into its rhythms.

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It's heartbeat will support me.

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Don't imagine I'm sitting around

my house doing that thing.

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I'm doing things slowly,

deliberately with intention.

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In tune with the season.

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This morning while I sat in meditation, I

stoked a huge glowing Ember in my heart.

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Filling my body with love and warmth.

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And then I imagined myself going

for a walk in the winter season

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with my savior with Jesus.

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We didn't talk.

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We simply walk together.

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In my mind's eye, Jesus was

showing me all that is amazing

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and beautiful about winter.

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I saw fields of pure white untracked snow.

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Rime ice crystals in pine

trees, frozen Brooks.

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Huge snow covered mountains.

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My beloved red rock, desert frosted

with snow like powdered sugar.

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I went underground and imagined a mama

bear in a den with squirmy playful Cubs.

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I imagine being with penguins huddled

together for warmth against biting wind.

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Of course the whole time I was bundled

in warm clothing with my Ember of

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love, warming me from the inside out.

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It was a beautiful journey.

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Which brings me back to the

idea of my mother's little poem.

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Here's my version.

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The woman breathed on cold fingers

as she slowed to contemplate the

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field of freshly fallen snow.

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Which way should she go on this

journey of life left or right.

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As with all such burdensome choices,

she paused to check in with her heart.

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The Ember there was burning low.

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She stoked it with the breath of life.

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A gift from the Elohim.

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The Ember burst into flame.

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Better.

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She thought.

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Now brimming with love and inspiration.

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She examined her two choices once more.

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And chose neither.

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Straight through the middle.

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She proclaimed and off, she went.

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Ghia: That's how winter and its

energy are manifesting for me today.

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Every season has its gifts and challenges.

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My deliberate choice is to embrace

the challenges and share the gifts.

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So please join Judy and me each

week, as we share our thoughts about

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how to navigate this journey, one

small deliberate step at a time.

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If you enjoy this podcast,

please share it with a friend.

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That's the hugest.

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Thank you.

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You could give us.

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And that will enable us to keep going.

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So don't forget to tap into your seasonal

energy and we'll see you next week.

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Until then take loving care of yourself.

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Nama stay.