Mind Matters — Meandering mid-winter musings

At the beginning of February, we have Groundhog Day, which actually harkens back to Imbolc, the “cross quarter” day between winter solstice and spring equinox. In times before Europe was called Europe, people marked the day with bonfires of the greens they had festooned their houses with for the winter solstice.

No one likes Punxsutawney Phil to see his shadow, but whether he does or not, spring does not arrive until March 21 anyway. And actually I am one of the few people in the Philadelphia environs who likes winter, especially a snowy one.

Yes, I understand all the downsides of snow: the hazards of driving, the shoveling, and so on. However, admit it, is not icy rain and sleet that slicks sidewalks and streets and cuts out power so much worse?

Back to snow: perhaps in our heart of hearts, we all want a good snowstorm. Why else would snowmen proliferate on Christmas cards and decorations?

You know the French toast phenomenon of everyone running to the grocery store for milk, bread, and eggs at the hint of the forecast of snow? Perhaps that is because secretly, everyone would like to be snowed in. The inner child of snowflakes past really wants a snow day. A day to, after the shoveling is done, sip hot cocoa or — make a snowman.

There are places where there are no winters, no change of seasons. But there must be for everyone a time for interior seasons — shifts and changes. Winter, for those of us lucky enough to have it, can be a time for hibernation, a going inward to reflect on what is growing within us to blossom in its own good time.

Every farmer — every gardener — knows that, in winter there are all sorts of life germinating within the soil. Trees and plants are not dead, but dormant. And that sleep is necessary also for the nutrients in the earth to flourish. However, snowy winters are even better. Snow, in fact, is the farmer’s friend. A good snow that melts slowly helps the ground to gain a greater amount of nutrients, giving sustenance to plants, trees and seeds.

Likewise for us. What if we saw snow as a reminder for us to slow down, hibernate a little and replenish ourselves with some “dormancy” to get re-vitalized. We live in a 24/7 world. We can be reached anytime, at any moment. Anywhere. We do not depend on seasons or solstices for marking our time or our work. We can leave the lights on all night and we can work all night. Indoor plumbing, electric lights, and an automatic thermostat have made it possible for us to disconnect from earth’s cycles. So snow comes along and impedes our disconnect from our true nature of dependence on nature.

Despite the downsides, snow brings us quiet. Indeed science shows that snow, because of its insulating qualities, actually does muffle sound. What if we tuned into that quiet and allowed ourselves to savor some quiet within as well?

We are so fascinated with snow globes, perhaps we do indeed sometimes fantasize being in one — Boston notwithstanding.

* Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She welcomes comments at [email protected] or 610-388-2888. Past columns are posted to www.drgajdos.com

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.