Survival Mode.

Roomies + tapas. Neighborhood walk. 

Used Bookstore exploration.

It's mid-Feb and very cold.
(minus the 40 degree heat wave we've had the past few days...)

Wrapped in my puffer, hands clenched in gloves, scarf and hat tied so tightly I can barely see... every.day... it's easy to feel like Blah. Frump. Ick.

So my motto has been "make it to March."

But then I realized - I don't want to live like that. Waiting for the next best thing. Waiting for a season to pass and time to be over. I want to enjoy now. I feel my life becoming this reel of surviving... I don't want to just barely survive, I want to enjoy. But is that possible in the dead of winter?

Winter means it's easy to stay inside, create routine, and maintain a life that lacks contact with any other human. But it's when you extend yourself beyond the "normal" and challenge your day to be mixed-up in a unique way that begins a perspective of delight instead of despair. I look for simple moments that bring me joy - anything to give me hope that the day-to-day doesn't have to be so completely effected by cold.

A special coffee I normally don't order, a new pilates studio, an interesting conversation with a stranger, wearing lipstick & perfume, cooking something special, exploring a new hobby, taking photos in snow, asking the local bar to play The Bachelor... ;) Whatever it takes for that day to feel balanced and healthy and peaceful and happy - even when it seems simple - creates meaning for me. When weather makes life seem gray and dull, we can choose to feel that way. Or, we can embrace a day that is filled with moments waiting to bring us joy.

Playing with these dearies = joy & refreshment.

I would love to know: What are the simple things you indulge in to survive winter? What brings celebration instead of dread to the longest, coldest months of the year?