Winter

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me lay an invincible summer.”

I haven’t liked winter since I was 12.

But this year, I love it.

At some point, the joy of playing outside in the cold leaves you and you become consumed with work and school. All of the creativity and imagination is lost and the winter becomes a combination of remembering fall and waiting for spring.

It is never appreciated. 

It took years for me to finally appreciate winter. Winter is the time to build. The time to learn. The time to disappear and become who you wish to become. 

If it weren’t for the grueling winters I have endured, I would have never been forced to focus on the good in my life.

Without winter, summer would not be summer.

Life is a balance.

You would never see how good the good is if you never experienced the bad. If life was filled with constant enjoyment, it would no longer be enjoyment. The winter gives you something to look forward to. It forms a new appreciation for what you’ve had and what is to come. 

It comes back to the scarcity effect.

You want summer til you have summer, then summer isn’t as valuable. 

You must appreciate the winters in your life because they make summer something you look forward to.

You have to find that summer within the winter. Realizing that winter has its place allows you to treat it like summer. It convinces your brain that the cold times are just as good as the warm times. Convince yourself of this and your body will start to function as if it was 75 and sunny. 

Life is all about enjoying the season you are in because at some point that season will end and all you’ll do is wish it was back. 

Enjoy the winter.