On The Passing Of Winter.

Hiking near mount hood last august.

“The task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted…” S. Kierkegaard, Journals.

Looking at the calendar and seeing that we are 10 days into April has given me some inspiration. Spring is a time of renewal and I think that concept reflects where my life currently stands. Marissa and I recently (mostly) completed a move from Wooster to Cleveland, and with this move we enter into a new stage of our lives. We started this website several years ago to satisfy a creative need we both shared. The idea of creation or the act of being creative is a nebulous idea, and Marissa and I have very different ways of being creative.

Even if we have different concepts of creation, Marissa and I both desire to use this space as an expression of creation. I will mostly use this space to organize my thoughts and hopefully express them in a meaningful and productive manner. Marissa will use this space differently, but I don’t dare to speak to her mind or motivations as they belong to her for her to express. Regardless of her direction, I hope to use this space in a way that is engaging and up-building. In my mind, I am attempting to build to something, but I do not have that goal in sight yet. Therefore, allow me the time to process my intentions through a reflection.

This winter was cold, windy, wet, and long. Even now, as the weather has turned for the better, I am still feeling the drag this winter placed on me. However I may feel day-to-day, I have an overall sense of optimism. I am in a graduate program that I have seen myself develop in new and unexpected ways. Marissa and I have been married for a little over a year, and I have seen myself, and the relationship, grow and develop in new and wonderful ways. We moved into a house in Cleveland that is near where we work, near where we study, where we can spend time with friends, and where we can become part of a new community.

To witness the passing of winter, there is also a passing chapter in our lives. One thing is certain to me, transition is constant. Winter comes and it goes, leaving us with the potential of a new spring. Old questions are answered but they never really go away, and I think that is the point to all of this. I still have questions that the passing of winter cannot take with it.

Will I excel in my classes? Will my career take me somewhere that satisfies my soul? Will the Indians finally win a World Series (much more on baseball later)? Will I produce positive value to my community? Do I have the ability to start a business and take that leap for myself? Will I ever truly find answers to these questions? I don’t know. I don’t even know if I even want the answers. What would I do if I actually found them?

What I do know is that winter has passed and with it the new optimism and potential of a spring is here.