remnants of snow

Remnants of snow on the mountain path

How we cling to seasons past

I was walking the other day on one of the mountain paths hereabouts, and I came upon some patches of old snow. They were grubby, unattractive. They had long ago lost their white freshness, and naturally so for winter has passed here. Spring is upon us. the flowers, the trees, the birds, all the wild animals are declaring that spring is here, winter is gone. And yet these muddy old patches of snow were clinging on, not wanting to let go, not wanting to admit that winter is over and that a new season is here.

And this is how we humans so often are: reluctant to let go of things when their time has passed. We cling on to a relationship long after it has lost its freshness, its vitality, its viability. And we cling on to jobs, possessions, homes, all sorts of things we are reluctant to let go of. And this is a terrible tendency in us, for when we cling on to these things, we too become dull and stale. Our soul becomes grubby, like these patches of old snow. Our life loses its vitality. 

So let's learn from the mistake of these remnants of snow on the mountain path. Let's stop making that mistake, of clinging on to a season when it is naturally over.