FEBRUARY BLOG: A Season of Hope
Today is gray and cold. But last week the high reached seventy-two, so who can complain about our winters anymore? In years past I recall several 24” snowfalls and weeks of bitter cold. It was during last week’s sunny day in the 70’s that I took down Christmas décor and stored it for another year. I have begun to leave it all up through most of January. Christmas lights can warm the long winter evenings, and why not? If you spend days getting it all in place, why not extend the enjoyment as long as you can.
By February, however, when the days are a little longer, and the warm days come a bit more often, I’m ready to pack away the Christmas decorations. It allows “starting fresh” after the holidays and January’s hibernation. I was telling a friend how I tend to need a few weeks of rest and solitude after the holidays, but then as I recall all I’ve accomplished, perhaps rest isn’t the right word. It is more like regrouping. I de-cluttered clothes closets, the back storage area, the entry closet, and the kitchen cabinets. I let go of tons of old clothing, shoes, and nicknacks. Oh, I also took a class on marketing books; this made me realize how much I really hate marketing. I also tweaked a new website, hosted Writers, the Tribe, and Spirit Walkers. I guess January hasn’t been so slow after all.
But February always brings that promise of spring; the buds often begin to show, as if “testing the waters,” even though more freezing weather is pretty much a sure thing. I can walk outside, and the birds are singing. I even get a few days to sit in the swing and take inventory of all that needs to be done in the gardens.
For me February is a month of hope. Hoping for an early spring, hoping for a warm sunny day, hoping for that new beginning that only a new year brings.
This will be a fun and busy year. In early March I will spend ten days in Sedona, one of my favorite places. I will study Shamanic Wisdom and Dreamweaving, experience being out on the land, and participate in an Ascension Conference. So, I should return home ready for whatever this new year brings.
In April I will exhibit my new series of paintings along with a book signing, “A Thousand Ways to Kiss the Earth.” The opening reception is April 4, 6-8 PM, at the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre. Mid-April I will also facilitate, along with Renee, another exciting retreat in New Harmony: “Beyond Survive to Thrive.”
In May I hope to visit dear friends and cousins in Punta Gorda, Florida. Then June will bring another exhibit and book signing. This time at the St. Charles Arts Council’s Lilian Yahn Gallery in Wing Haven. The opening reception and book signing is June 16, 1-5 PM.
September will be our second retreat in New Harmony, “Spirited Aging.” After this I hope to fly to Long Island to visit my long-time friend.
Please watch the Events and Blog page, www.jangroenemann.com for details on these exhibits and retreats, and I so hope you will make room on your calendars to join me! Happy Hopeful February!
Photo by Stanley Vincent Chambers
