Braving the Beauty

As I came into the building, I was greeted by a woman who said, "And here's another courageous soul!" I had just come in from the bitter cold weather; at noon it was only two degrees, and it had been below zero (way below!) the previous night.

Don't think I wasn't tempted to stay home that day. In fact, that was one of the warmer days that week, and I had hunkered down and hid under my blankets more than my fair share. Sure, getting in the car and waiting for the heat was hard, however, once I was out of the house, the beauty of cold weather hit home. I realized that our cold, dry weather creates the only opportunity for the numerous trees on the nearby mountains to remain completely dusted in snow, as if some giant flour sifter was set loose over the landscape. And then to top it off, the sun shines brightly over it all, trying either to add its own special sparkle to the scene, or to melt its colorless nemesis in hopes of returning to fond summer memories.


And everyone experiencing (complaining about) the frigid cold in the area gets to be a part of it. So I say, braving the cold is worth it, since what we're really doing is looking for the courage to see the beauty.