It was the second Sunday of the last month of the year 2022. Without being predicted by the weather app, sleet began to fall. It gradually picked up the pace and turned into snow. From there, white flakes continued steadily for hours and hours.
An unusual snowfall brings abrupt changes in activities and mood of the people.
When it falls, snow comes scattered and fragile. On the ground, however, it displays enormous unity and becomes a singular white force. Maybe it learns on the way from the skies to earth that divided, snow merely flakes, but united, it becomes a powerful entity.
Temperature aside, snow takes over the entire atmosphere and whitens the cold ground.
The branches of the trees that stand sad and leafless get covered by the snow, once again allowing the trees to make the landscape more pleasant.
Not only does it cover the trees, snow also affects the colors of the landscape, the texture of the ground, the mood of the area, what it feels like to walk, and how people drive on the roads. Snow has its own set of rules. City governments and highway authorities have to sprinkle salt to keep the roads open. Snow trucks clear the paths, and people shovel in front of their homes. The whole outdoor lifestyle revolves around the snow.
"Be melting snow, wash yourself of yourself."
Rumi
Snow, in a way, resembles how fog affects Lahore. Both snow and fog disrupt the regular lifestyle. Fog lasts for weeks, however, while snowfall is mostly brief. Only the fog blinds; the snow merely hides. In fog, minds skid; and in snow, cars do.
Fog represents cleverness, and snow encourages chivalry. Of course, no one has to agree with this analogy. It's how I feel about these two weather conditions.
Snow melts, but the cold persists.
On the same planet, there are so many similarities and so much disparity. It is summer in Australia and winter in Asia. It’s freezing in New York, and it's comfortable in Nairobi. Such differences are how nature likes to operate on this planet. The variety in weather conditions shows the breadth of the mind and imagination of its creator.
Perhaps change is the language of nature, or change may be the song of ecdysis that nature likes to sing repeatedly. Not all white things that fall are snow. Some are even colder. And one is what we see in our hair as we age. The whiteness in our hair is the first sign of a decaying body. The news is that time is flying, and we are spending it unceasingly. We are not here forever. Let’s cherish this planet while we are living on it.
A Winter Bluejay
Crisply the bright snow whispered,
Crunching beneath our feet;
Behind us as we walked along the parkway,
Our shadows danced,
Fantastic shapes in vivid blue.
Across the lake the skaters
Flew to and fro,
With sharp turns weaving
A frail invisible net.
In ecstasy the earth
Drank the silver sunlight;
In ecstasy the skaters
Drank the wine of speed;
In ecstasy we laughed
Drinking the wine of love.
Had not the music of our joy
Sounded its highest note?
But no,
For suddenly, with lifted eyes you said,
“Oh look!”
There, on the black bough of a snow flecked maple,
Fearless and gay as our love,
A bluejay cocked his crest!
Oh who can tell the range of joy
Or set the bounds of beauty?
Credits
Sara Teasdale
Weather App
By
Ahsan Jamil
Golfer, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Author, Poet, Wanderer, Photographer, Rebel.
Email: Golfaij@gmail.com
Website: Golfaij.com
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