The past few days have offered up an oasis of springtime in the middle of winter. A large part of me wants this anomaly to stick around indefinitely. I’m growing tired of clouds and cold and short, dark days.
The sun graciously cleared up the sky today, affording me the opportunity for a rather picturesque trail run up at Tiger Mountain. I arrived late in the morning and explored the trails. I almost regretted wearing gloves, unheard of in mid January.
I feel as though it’s been full years of winter. That’s absurd, of course, but no less true. I long for the days when the sun is out after 4:30pm and wakes before 8:00am. I’m so ready for spring.
Objectively, autumn is my favorite season. Because of its contrast to the winter I loathe, however, spring brings up a close second. And I must say, I appreciate spring far more. This is true for many for the same reason I prefer a sunrise to a sunset: it signals a beginning rather than an end.
(Interestingly, I find autumn and sunset to be easier to reach. It’s often difficult to wake up early enough to see the sunrise and it’s certainly a struggle to make it through winter with my sanity completely intact, but it’s simple for me to stay up for the sunset regardless of any other factors and the same goes for autumn. It’s not hard for me to get through the summer with a smile. I think that’s telling.)
But the seasons are vital. It can’t simply be spring or fall all the time. Winter always ends eventually and the subsequent seasons are the sweeter for it. This tragic necessity has massive drawbacks, but is an important aspect of the cycle required to sustain life as we know it.
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Similarly, gravity gets a bad rap. It holds us down. For many who enjoy my favorite pastime (running), it can be a weight to fight against, leading to fatigue and potential injury. And anyone who’s ever tripped understands how great a capacity gravity has for unpleasant interactions.
Everything we do here on Earth is influenced by gravity. And we’re not special. Everything everywhere is influenced by gravity. Galaxies exist because of gravity. The planets dance around our sun because of gravity. The tides rise and recede because of gravity. We have our seasons because of gravity.
Winter and gravity. These are two things that typically get contextualized in a negative light. Winter is usually associated with dreary or dismal connotations while gravity is most often referenced as an antagonizing force.
The simple truth is, though, both are absolutely necessary. I couldn’t run the way I do if gravity were different. I wouldn’t appreciate the joy of spring without winter. Sorrow informs joy; conflict makes resolution all the more satisfying.
This idea of balance is a beautiful thing to me. Everything depends on everything else. Good and evil are the two sides of the coin. It seems we can’t understand, or at least appreciate, the one without the other. Symbiosis is what it’s all about.
I notice, for my part, I need to stop judging the world in terms of good or bad. Everything just is; it is despair, it is ecstasy, changing constantly from one thing to another and back again eventually.
Winter and gravity have their cons, but those cons result in their opposites’ pros. Both must exist or neither can.