The climate can be very harsh where I live in northeast North Dakota during wintertime. We have 4 seasons here, but it is a little distorted by the relative length and intensity of winter weather over few months, fading in and back out over the weeks preceding and following. On this day,  we are looking at temperatures well below zero, with what the National Weather Service characterizes as “dangerous” wind chill equivalents in the 40’s and 50’s below zero.  

It’s deceptive, as it is a beautiful sunny day looking out my window at work on this Saturday. Further contemplation of the day brings awareness of bare branches on trees waving in the wind, now appearing stark and shaping my impression of the day. They will wait it out for the time when they will “break out” quickly in the turnover to spring, but their long shadows already in this mid-afternoon betray that as the days remain short in the sharp angle of the sun. I consider that it will be dark when I’m ready to head home; the cold will feel intensified by the day slipping away into evening, especially with a cloudless sky, moon and stars above, maybe an aurora to remind us of our latitude and station.

The sheer force of the elements is invigorating, however; few things in our everyday experience can influence our thoughts and emotions like the weather, giving background and context to where we are and what we’re doing. Some can only complain about these harshest days of winter, thinking of summer days or a warm weather vacation. I find the sheer extreme force of it to be somewhat spiritual; anyone can see the beauty of a warm sunny day, but this is a different experience altogether. Few things can make you feel more alive than being bundled up and outside for a few minutes in it, even for just a run to the store or some other errand.  

Upon returning indoors and even when warming by the fire, it stays with you for a while. Cold is a very incomplete descriptor for it, it’s palpable. My Scandinavian ancestors had a goddess for winter, Skaði, reflecting its importance in their everyday lives. Milder winter days will bring silent and smooth solace as the snow falls while skiing along the riverfront. In embracing these times, it is an act of living more fully; to block it out lessens my experience by not finding the beauty in every day, day after day, a day at a time.