Snow belongs in the mountains and bare trees

Snow belongs here–which is part of the reason I moved to Colorado. I love snow–here. We got several inches of beautiful snow this week. As I look at the mountains, I can see they’re covered with snow. But I’ve been thinking about the cold and snow in the southern part of the U.S. It doesn’t belong there. I know the snow will soon be gone from there, but the challenges and suffering it’s brought will not disappear so quickly. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who have suffered through this strange storm.

Snow belongs here in the mountains

There have been many storms to weather of late–winter storms, COVID storms, political storms. I know so many people who have suffered–I have, too.

The first Noble Truth of Buddhism is that suffering is part of life. I’m pretty sure that we’ve all noticed lately.

Jack Kornfield shares a lovely article on the Four Noble Truths and the difference between pain and suffering. While pain is inevitable, suffering is not. Suffering comes from grasping. We free ourselves from suffering by taking the middle path where we neither hold onto things nor resist them. We face our pain without judgment–like my judgment that snow belongs here in the mountains and not in the oil fields of Texas.

So here’s a little poem about snow and where it belongs

Snow belongs in the mountains
or blanketing the bare-branched trees,
covering fir trees with white crystals
that sparkle and drip in the sun.

But apparently no one told the snow
Where it could--or could not--go.
It may cling to earth or branch temporarily,
but it doesn't cling to expectations
Or resist where the wind blows it.

It doesn't care if it brings pain--or suffering
Or joyful snow days 
(which I guess no longer exist
--no use grasping for those, either)

Make a snow angel, throw snowballs
Freeze the water supply
If the temperature in the clouds is below freezing
there will be snow--anywhere, any time.
It belongs where the meteorological conditions create it.

Beautiful, wild, fun, dangerous,
We can label it, even create its likeness when we want more,
But we can't control it
Or expect it to listen when we tell it where it belongs.

We have much to learn from snow about clinging, letting go, and belonging.

It’s Poetry Friday!

Happy Poetry Friday! This week, Ruth over at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town hosts. She’s creating a group poem based on a quote from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer–“sometimes a fact alone is a poem.” Everyone is invited to leave a fact/line of a poem to add! Sounds like fun, right?

More poems about the Rocky mountains

Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo