“In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan. Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.” The water isn’t frozen here, but it is cold and windy. Have you noticed how the sun hardly makes a difference, because it is so low in the sky? But the days are lengthening now, and hope survives.

This is a good time to take stock of your life, and make changes to the things that need to be changed. In the meantime, drink warm tea and sit by the fire, sing old folk songs, and love one another right now.