The Winter of Our Discontent

As a take-off on this popular John Steinbeck novel, I wanted to reflect on my favorite time of the year.  For some strange reason, fall leading into winter, and winter itself, are my two favorite times of the year.  Due to the way I'm hard-wired, temperament and personality, this season is truly one of rest, re-grouping, and vision-casting.  By the time spring rolls around, I'm like a baby in the throes of labor waiting to burst forth full of life, wonder, and potential.  On days like today when a time of snowing leaves the roads iced over and impassable, I am left alone with nothing but my thoughts to reflect upon.  Then I look ahead to the future, equipped with a treasure chest full of invaluable life experiences, anxiously casting a vision with subsequent goals outlined to aid in the capture of what lies down the road.  Sometimes I ponder the lot of humanity as represented by the mass of people I observe and come in contact with on a daily basis.  I am saddened by the silent cries of desperation I can see in the facial expressions of each individual.  Certainly guilty of not making quality use of each and every moment of time in my possession, I must guard against not allowing the urgent to take place of the important.  Priorities must be set.  Self-discipline must be practiced.  My desire is for others to recognize the importance of these ideas, to hunger after these character traits, and to earnestly yearn for more than what this life seemingly has to offer.  This is a collective journey hammered out individually as each contribution and moral victory contributes to the community at-large.  Be patient, the apparent discontent of our winter will soon spring full with the blossoming fruit of our time of reflection and planning.  Proper planning, implementation, and strategy will fertilize our actions so our efforts will not come to us empty and void of meaning.