Well, it finally snowed last night. It was like Mother Nature remembered it is winter. It was beautiful. I’ve always liked the way the snow makes everything bright and clean and perfect. It hides the dirt and grime underneath. Some people are like that. They smile and laugh with everyone, but inside is rotten and full of pain. I’ve done that many times. You feel that no one will understand the real you, so you fake it and act like society tells you to. It doesn’t help you in the long run. I’m not sure it even works in the short term. You make the others feel comfortable and happy, but you don’t help yourself.

I’ve worked hard to find my inner peace and serenity. I finally feel congruent, the same inside and outside. I know some people would prefer that I be Miss Perky Bubbles, but that is not me. Those that actually matter to me, know and understand that is not me. They accept that I am more than sunshine and rainbows. I have storm clouds and tornadoes and hurricanes inside me. I sometimes have hard freezes when I don’t let anyone in to my comfort zone. That’s OK. It’s all part of the weather, and without it life wouldn’t work on this planet. I wouldn’t function as a human being without my internal weather. My climate is temperate, subject to changing fronts and seasons. My life thrives under those conditions.

Very few people can live being constantly sunny. Even the happiest people acknowledge the existence of sadness, pain, and need. They have learned that you cannot grow without both extremes and everything in the middle. Your garden won’t grow if it’s always dry sun, or always freezing cold, or torrential rain. It needs the warmth of the sun to make food. It needs the cold to take a break and rest and repair. It needs the rain to soak up so it can move the nutrients around and stand proudly under the sun. Just like us.