Still & Thankful

This snowstorm could not have come at a better time. First snow of the winter season and it's Thanksgiving! I am very particular about what constitutes the perfect snowfall. This time around was pretty much perfect. It snowed goose feathers all day Wednesday and was the kind of snow that sticks to every branch of every tree. Then on Thanksgiving it stayed foggy and overcast, maintaining a sense of mystery fit for Sherlock Holmes. This picture was from my walk on Thanksgiving morning.

On Friday the sun came out and we took our Thanksgiving guests up to the mountains and into Shenandoah National Park. In the valley the sun was melting the snow off the trees, but up above on the mountain it was still like Narnia.

We timed our trip so we could watch the sunset and it was one of the most spectacular sunsets we have ever witnessed. We parked at an overlook so we could see the sunset and the valley below. Here are snapshots of the sunset, reduced to 4 stages. (No filter, no retouching.)

I started Instagramming the sunset but then something made me put the phone down and just watch. It was almost unreal, the way the light kept shifting, painting the sky in a magnificent array of colors from Sedona red to Indigo blue. Such a beautiful, relaxing evening that was the cherry on top of a lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends.

And yet throughout this vacation.....my mind races. Deadlines loom and my to-do list keeps growing. I have papers to grade and parents to email. Christmas is the busiest, craziest time of year for musicians and as a result Thanksgiving has unfortunately come to represent the calm before the storm. This poses the question: how do you relax when you know there is so much to be done??

I've been thinking quite a bit about this dilemma lately. Life will never get easier. It might improve with more everyday conveniences (that of course come with more money) but we live in a world of stress, pain, suffering, and eventual death. Somehow I convinced myself that if I could just finish my masters, get out of debt, find a better job, meet the perfect guy....I will have arrived, be complete, and not have to deal with anymore than the everyday difficulties such as the common cold or flat tire.

(I can hear life laughing at me with great amusement even as I type this.)

And so I am slowly learning that the key to life is to be present and enjoy what is good in this moment. Deadlines, responsibilities, emails, and voicemails be damned......I will find joy in this moment. When I take a walk through falling snow I won't think about what could make this moment more perfect. When I'm sitting at home with my family, hot drinks in hand, listening to the crackle of a roaring fire, I won't focus on my bad hair day or intestinal troubles. I will smile and find joy in just being together. How sad that everyday chaos has wormed its way so deep into our minds that being still feels like more work than updating Facebook.

All I want this day (for myself and anyone reading) is to be still and be thankful.