February… welcome to the leanest part of the year. This is not a month of grand victories or harvest feasts; it is a month of damp knees, cold wind, and relentless grey that can test the temper of the strongest spirit. The fool month can’t even decide how many days to have!
To the Celts, today is Imbolc. That being the midpoint between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox (Ostara). It is the time when the spark of life ignites and the delicate, but hardy snowdrops begin to pierce the frozen crust of the earth. I have a ton of respect for that hard won bloom, with its grit to push through the dirt when nobody is watching and the sun still feels like a distant memory.
It reminds me that resilience isn't loud or flashy. It’s the quiet, stubborn spark that refuses to go out, even if the wood is wet and the night is long. Right now, the days are technically growing longer by 2-3 minutes per day, but you wouldn’t know it by looking out the window. It still feels like winter, like a trial and still feels heavy.
But this is where the real work happens.
Determination hides in the "almost"; we are almost through the dark, almost at the thaw, almost recovered from Christmas...
And sadly "almost" is where most people quit. They see the bare soil and tattered lawns, bare branches and harsh low sun and assume nothing is happening. It is easy to take what we see and form that judgement, but beneath the surface life is waging a massive, silent war against the cold.
Imbolc reminds us that new life doesn't start with a flower but instead starts with a struggle. I think of the shoot tearing out of the bulb, or a seed case shattering underground. This is an act of destruction, but it is making way for something that can survive in the world!
So, if you feel tired, or the weight of life feels heavier than it did in January, remember the snowdrop. That impatient little beauty doesn't ask the frost for permission to grow. It just gets going because it must, come what may.
Hold onto your spark, because we all have one. If motivation is low, feed it with a dash of discipline just to keep it ticking over. The light is coming, I promise, but for now find strength in the shadows.
We push through the soil one inch of grit at a time.
-Bones
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