The weather hasn’t changed much since the last blog (January 3, 2019) and there is fresh snow on the ground. Dense fog covers the high ground and it’s snowing presently. The humidity is 94% (courtesy of iPhone) and it’s surprisingly warm. I’m overdressed, crunching uphill, I start to sweat a little through my brown, down Parka. There is only one other set of tracks on the trail, and those are headed back down. I have the trail all to myself. I imagine everyone else hunkered down by their warm fireplaces, watching football, drinking steamy drinks. Meanwhile, all this white solitude out here brings me agreeable tranquility.
What comes to mind is this winter season is more enjoyable than years past. What is the difference between this year and years past? The difference this winter is that I decided the weather is not going to prevent me from getting out on the trail. As I’m walking, I realize that it’s exactly that decision, to embrace winter this year, that has changed my attitude about it.
What comes to mind next (and a friendly reminder to self), is that this is exactly how emotions work, too. Out in the therapy cyber world, there is a general theory:
Pain + resistance = struggle
vs.
Pain + acceptance = compassion
Oh yeah, that again. A simple, clear concept, but so challenging to remember, to apply. The Russians have a saying something like, repetition is the mother of learning – sounds cuter in Russian, but it’s the truth. This time, I am going to write this pain-plus-resistance-etc. concept on a post-it note somewhere I look frequently (the refrigerator, of course).
