December 20, 2021
Joe’s Blog: Maybe Peace Hides in a Storm
If winter – the kind of winter we know in Minnesota – were our only season, I’d hate it. But it’s not, and I don’t. I so appreciate each of our four seasons, and in its turn, Winter has a beauty of its own.
There is beauty in the stillness of a quiet snow, or a silent bird-less sunrise. And especially as we reach the shortest day of the year, a sense of completing the cycle of seasons. Perhaps it’s because our calendar year ends at this time of year, and our annual trip around the sun reaches its furthest point (from here in the Northern Hemisphere), winter has a sense of completion for me.
Of course, the shortest day of the year also means the longest night of the year. And our journey through this Covid pandemic has felt like a very long night. Within that journey, our march to the vaccine deadline has been for me the coldest point in this long night. To endure it, the stability of our organization has been a strong shelter, our care for and reliance on one another have provided warmth, and our shared purpose – to guide and heal – has given us reason to persevere.
Perhaps coincidence, it feels to me like we’ve reached our Winter Solstice in the battle with Covid. To be sure, there’s still plenty of winter to go. Yet each day will bring more light and warmth.
Perhaps coincidence, it feels to me like we’ve reached our Winter Solstice in the battle with Covid. To be sure, there’s still plenty of winter to go. Yet each day will bring more light and more warmth. While we don’t know if the next few months will be mild or historically cold, we do know with confidence that Spring is on its way. Our nights will grow shorter, and the days will get longer.
I hold that same confidence that we will overcome the pandemic. There are still cold days ahead, but Spring will come. What we are learning about the virus, about our ability to prevent and treat it, about how we can innovate to adjust to the unexpected, about who we are as individuals and as a unified team — all this learning is born of the trials of this long Covid night. We bring these lessons forward into the lengthening days and will emerge stronger, brighter, and wiser.
On his “Midwinter” album, a song-writing friend of mine, Peter Mayer, sings:
Maybe peace hides in a storm
Maybe winter’s heart is warm
And maybe light itself is born
In the longest night
Of the year
Here’s to peace, and warmth, and light…and longer days ahead!
Joe
