Let it Snow!

I have been moping a bit lately about life’s could haves and should haves (there’s even a funny backstory on how I got a related nickname), and I think to break me out of my funk, London decided to let it snow!

Majestic Blackfriars Skyline at 0 Degrees Celsius

Having lived here for slightly over two and a half years now, I have only ever seen the ghost of snowflakes past (though I was content with that too, trying to record one lonely flake at a time).

Seeing it as a sign from God, with the heaviness in my heart lifting in surprise and joy, I ran out in my pyjamas, hurriedly putting on a winter coat, so that I could stand in the middle of it all and have snow land decidedly on my face and palm. Many of the passersby and walkers had paused to click pictures, smiling and posing in the snow, and it was a sight to behold.

Snowfall, and this being the first of the year, symbolises innocence and renewal – to be pure as the driven snow. I’ve taken it literally to mean the cleansing of past mistakes, learning to forgive yourself and starting over with a blank slate.

It also symbolises a cycle of transformation and growth. The view from your window is postcard-perfect, transcendent because it’s ephemeral – and growth, like melting snow, will leave little trace behind – but you will know transformation once you have lived it. The slippery white sidewalks remind you of nature’s bounty and impermanence and the inseparability of beauty and risk. You can’t have one without the other.

You are allowed to stumble, fumble, or fail and hope that one day, despite the odds, you make it. Till then, when it comes to idle rumination, let it go, let it go, let it go!