White shirt...frozen garden.

I am wearing a white shirt today.  The new year brings about newness and the white shirt seems to be the most appropriate.  My sleeves are starched and I still roll them up because I am always too hot for crisp cuffs.  However, the rolled-up sleeves fit the mood that is forming on this New Year's Day.

I have decided not to reveal my resolutions.  I decided that I will keep each one a secret ;filled or unfulfilled.  Resolutions; coming face to face with the rolled-up sleeved white shirt.  

I was sinking in crisp snow last week...trekking through the familiar paths of Santa Fe and  I came upon a frozen garden.  I stood quietly, silently.  I listened to the far away sounds of birds and dogs and cars and LIFE and I realized that the still quiet state of this garden was deafening.  The stillness was louder Than my ears could tolerate.  

White silence.

I want to really listen this year.  I want to really feel this year.  I want to see the meaning; feel the meaning and roll up my sleeves and search for it.  

I can hardly read the morning paper anymore.  I can hardly watch the news...the world needs to be silent.  The world needs a white shirt.  If we could all sit in a frozen garden for a few moments and really feel the crisp air and see our breath ; crisp and white.

I don't think that it's a coincidence that the new year comes during winter.  We should evaluate and plan when the ground is frozen and we can see our breath.  

Faith and newness comes when the ground is frozen and our hearts are heavy.  We seek change when hope is at an unreachable distance.  Rolling up my sleeves tells my heart that I'm not ready to give up.  

I know that the winter will thaw.  I know that my resolutions will be considered.  But my sleeves will continue to be rolled-up.  My white shirt ready for what the new year may bring.  I take a lesson from my dear Isadore... Everyday is a blessing; every moment is a chance to stay on the path; even when it's frozen.

My Isadore is a beautiful white rooster that crows in the crisp morning; Mother Nature sending messages through her seasons and animals.  

Listen to the white silence.  

Listen to the rooster crow.

Roll up the sleeves of your white shirt.

Let your resolutions melt into the warmth of your heart in this moment of winter.  

And let the world find newness, see her crisp breath, listen to the silence that winter bestows so that the spring can push through and bring peace.

A new year. A new day.  A new perspective.  A new friend. A new song. 

A new...