Natural Order

Natural Order
My Road Goes Ever On

Winter whispers of enduring virtues and bears testimony to the wisdom of healthy slumber, common sense survival skills, and the quiet companionship of human spirits with nature.  The further I get away from the harmony of God’s created world, the worse my body responds and the more dispirited my mind. In an ever-growing desire to untether myself from frenetic routines, I turn to simple, long-standing examples of harmony. Though modern advancements in medicine, communication, and technology have a great deal to offer my daily life, I’ve found myself sliding into dangerous habits simply because I don’t pause and think, consider, and choose my actions and reactions thoughtfully. Staying up and active for too long, not getting enough rest, and refusing to accommodate seasonal realities affect my mood as well as my health. Reflecting on the seasons offers me a space for deep healing in a world where I can so easily run myself ragged and then wonder why I’m feeling so despondent.

Animals respond to the shorter days and longer nights sensibly. They tend to sleep more. But I feel guilty if I sleep past my usual time or go to bed early. Something must be the matter with me if my mid-winter brain wants to relax when the sun slides behind the horizon. I glare green-eyed at my cats and dogs, wishing I could follow their example and curl up in a quiet corner somewhere. Granted, I have to pay the bills; they don’t, but still, I see the value in their altered habits. Perhaps I shouldn’t imitate the energizer bunny all the time. Perhaps batteries need to be run down, plugs pulled, and slowness appreciated. Is it any wonder that the slowest animals on earth also tend to be the longest-living? They aren’t literally wearing themselves out.

I’ll never know what my dog, Misty, dreams about, though I suspect there have been some dreamy escapades where she is outrunning our other dogs and, perhaps, finally catching the golden squirrel. But I have to admire her ability to sleep soundly. She does it so well! No pills, no unplugging routine, no detoxing from the hyperventilating online media. I have to wonder why I need to take a life lesson from a dog. How did I get so far from the harmonic peace of routine life that I find myself unable to sleep well?

When I walk the trails and hike into winter woods, I feel very much like I am entering a gentle dreamscape, crossing a mystic border, and stepping into a land where the trees are napping. Like seeing Misty breathe in rhythmic patterns, so everything in the winter woods inhales and exhales in slow motion. Peaceful and serene, my heart rate settles into a somnolent stillness. Again, I sense a life lesson. When did I get so frantic that I lost the joy of simply being?

Writing is the opportunity to step outside the demands of the day, shove my to-do list aside, and walk a quiet path with an introspective character who is doing what I always wish I had more time to do—ponder life, nature, choices, consequences, and whatever spirit-troubling reality might be haunting him or her…or me. I suspect that is why so many people write books these days. The beguiling dream of making money is soon stripped of its lie, but the power of stepping out of “real life” and living intentionally through imaginary introspection, (some might call it prayer, meditation, or contemplation) offers a powerful antidote to the mindless whirlwind endured in the modern world. Why must I pretend to be someone else to consider my own life?

If writing has taught me anything, it is the purpose of intentional living. Winter, like a good rest, offers the recharge needed to think clearly with a revived spirit. My nature companions don’t tell me what to do. They remind me of a simple truth: I am part of my Creator’s natural order, and when I reject that, I’m rejecting a healthy part of myself.

A. K. Frailey is the author of 18 books, a teacher for 35 years, and a homeschooling mother of eight.
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