The happiness of watching the snow fall.

One of my resolutions is to “Appreciate the seasons and the time of life.”

So, for example, right now I’m sitting by a big window at Hale and Hearty Soups, where I have a great view of the snow just starting to fall.

I don’t like being cold, so don’t particularly enjoy being outside during the winter, but I do love watching snow fall. It enlivens the most ordinary and familiar scene. And today I’m watching a snow-globe type of snow – big, fluffy flakes blowing in wild patterns and disappearing the instant they hit the ground.

Instead of dimly registering a “How nice, it’s snowing,” and then spending a few idle moments eavesdropping on the teenagers sitting next to me, I’m instead taking that time to enjoy the changing light and wind through the flurry.

Montaigne wrote, “Is there some voluptuous pleasure that tickles me? I do not let my senses pilfer it, I bring my soul into it, not to implicate herself, but to enjoy herself, not to lose herself but to find herself, in it….to weigh and appreciate and amplify the happiness of it.”

This is an easy way to boost my happiness, I’ve found: wring more happiness out of small, ordinary moments. This strategy doesn’t require heroic virtue or even a change in my routine, but only that when I experience a happy moment, I “bring my soul into it” more mindfully.

Turns out that, as happiness resolutions go, enjoying the snow is a lot easier than giving up nagging.

Comments

[Cara]

I'm so glad that you're enjoying watching the snow fall! Ever see the kind of snow that glitters as it passes through light beams from the house lights? I love watching how that snow gives every surface a sparkly coating. Even ice has its blessings -- one day, I was driving along the freeway on a sunny day after a storm that coated all of the trees with ice. All of the trees looked like they were made out of crystal. It was breathtaking!

[Helen]

Funny that you should post this today. Earlier, I read about someone remembering how he really enjoyed going for a walk after a snowfall and enjoying the blanketing silence... but he realized that he hadn't done that in years. I felt quite chagrined that I also had let a wonderful activity slip away from me. After our ridiculous levels of snowfall this winter, I've been very happy to stay inside. But now, as all the Denver snow finally melts away, I might take a great walk after the next snowfall.

[Mark Mathson]

"...enjoying the snow is a lot easier than giving up nagging..."

I agree. More positive out-weighs negative.

[Martin Polley]

>I don’t like being cold...

That reminds me of a Scandinavian saying--"There's no bad weather, just bad clothing."

[inihtar]

Well, small steps. . . enjoy the snow today, and that'll put you in a better mood, and make it that much easier to give up nagging:)

[Pat]

Feel the enforced meditation: your nervous system is capable of tracking exactly 42 gazillion individual snowflake trajectories, all the while recording the memory of its individual relationship changing vs all the others. That's the yummy, warm, humming tone in your head. It's supposed to cut through the turgid wall of conscious thoughts between us and the phenomenon outside (as you said, “How nice, it’s snowing,”). It's supposed to replace all these words...

[Alex Fayle]

Great thought Gretchen! I've been feeling tired, slightly nauseous and emotionally vulnerable all week. It think it's either a low-grade stomach thing or my mould allergies acting up.

In other words, I've been pretty miserable all week. Yesterday I drove into town and got my hair cut, which always makes me feel better.

And today I've spent most of the day in bed. I'm finally going to get up and go do some writing now with a tea and a sandwich at a local cafe. Prompted by this post - thanks!