Isn’t it strange how we are repeatedly reintroduced to seasonal weather? Bodies can be trained to be frighteningly forgetful. I have experienced 25 winters and am still shocked the first time cold wind stings my face. The summer sun burning my skin is now difficult to imagine, though I experienced it 5 months prior. This is a defense mechanism. The same reaction applies to pain, loneliness, shame, fear. It’s easier to be intentionally ignorant versus excruciatingly aware.

Whether you are currently kicking some career ass or victim to the scarcity of winter freelance work, remember that our complex, beautiful, sacred human selves are not defined by what we do. This is not a new concept but one that must be continually carved in our minds. We are a generation that intellectualizes emotions while remaining protectively numb towards our own. I was recently asked to pick out my feelings on a chart and couldn’t. I didn’t want to be categorized or acknowledge that I might be weak or even worse, sad.

So. Don’t be afraid to unclench your fists and welcome the freedom in knowing that human worth is not measured by worldly occupation. Vulnerability outweighs status, progress, and knowledge, every time. I would always choose a difficult, honest conversation over an easy, fake one. Reverence, joy, love, & laughter would be futile without the existence of their darker counterparts. Warm weather would be mundane if we didn’t experience winter’s sting. Ask someone, stranger or lover, something besides “what do you do?”, and absorb their response. I will work to do the same.