My street in Brookline
Parking lot at my studio in South Boston
South Boston icicle fest
Just about everyone I know in New England has been pushed to the edge of the weather tolerance spectrum. We’re already in the red zone and now another blizzard with a foot of snow is heading at us this weekend. As has been demonstrated repeatedly, coping requires managed expectations. Had I chosen to live my life in Antarctica, I know I would feel differently. But we have become used to reasonable winters—the ones where a snowfall every once in a while is beautiful and the disruption is short lived.
Here are three quotes that my existential self—the part of me that is better at detaching and has fewer expectations—is finding comforting in a wry sort of way. Maybe these will speak to you too, even if you are basking on a beach somewhere.
There is no other world. Nor even this one.
—Emil Cioran
There is another world, and it is in this one.
—Paul Éluard
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.—Wallace Stevens, final lines from The Snowman
Here in snowy WNY, where blizzard-like conditions might occur this weekend and where the thermometer is scraping bottom, I think Eluard’s words fit well. We can be mindful of being in the chill, the white fields, banks of snow, that other world. I know it is a trying time.
But I am always appreciative when others are sympathetic. Thanks for your commment!
Oh, my. Where a friend lives in Maine, the expectation for tonight through tomorrow is two more feet. But, as she says, she has a vase on yellow tulips on her table.
Wind chill outside right now here in Boston is -28! Practicing mindfulness, with mixed results…
Thought you might also appreciate these thoughts on snow http://tracygrubbs.com/blog/ — albeit written from the warm and sunny remove of the west coast (where it is still too dry). Take care this weekend!
Tracy, really enjoyed your post. Great collection of images. And the quote by Ryman is a keeper. Thanks for sharing the link here.
Yes, it is all about managing the expectations. I know you will find the beauty in the snow and share it with the rest of us, especially those who usually get this snow but are benefiting from the high pressure system that is keeping us sunny while prevent the other side from return to normal. I miss the snow.
The shapes and drifts from the blizzard wind left such beautiful shapes everywhere. It IS amazing! Thanks for your comment.
The artistry of the draped ice in So. Boston — winter wisteria.
my daughter just flew into Boston this morning… worried me no end.
i have a quote you might like: it’s from the Lankavatara Sutra… ‘Things are not at all as they seem; and nor ae they any different’… i love your three, though, and hereby neck ’em!
Oh I like that a lot. Thank you!
my excuses for typos… there’s meant to be a ‘are’ in there, not an ‘ae’… and ‘nick’, not ‘neck’… too much weekend 😀
🙂