December 20: the cold went on forever

This Advent season, my intention has been to bring ideas born during darkness into the light. Thoughts inspired by the short days and long nights of the season; thoughts born from seeing and from waiting to see.

This afternoon, I was reminded of a children’s book by Kevin Henke called “Old Bear.” It was one of my favorites when my son was little and tells the story of an old bear hibernating in the winter and dreaming of himself as a cub aging through the seasons until, in the end, he awakes as the old bear in springtime.

There is one illustration in the book that I rarely got past without tearing up—the cub in winter sitting on a snowy hill, alone, gazing up at the stars and moon in absolute wonder. Unconcerned for his isolation and enamored of the full moon and stars, “blazing” with colors that come only with long winter nights.

The narrator tells us that “the cold went on forever” around the little bear, but he doesn’t notice. The little bear sits without impatience and without patience—watching the cold and feeling the light.

Tomorrow is the winter solstice, the first day of winter, the shortest day of the year. Advent and Christmas are solstice celebrations that remind us that, whether we are patient or not, from here, everything grows brighter.