Robert Frost

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued

A reminder that down days can be saved by relatively mundane experiences. Perhaps the cold of of the snow shakes me out of my ruminations and presents an opportunity to reground myself in the moment. Taking the time to step outside of my head, to be still and appreciate the wonder of the world, even when it doesn’t seem all that wonderful.

You can end up being someone’s crow for a day by making the effort to be more human than expected. It’s hard to tell what others are going through. There’s rarely a drawback in being nicer than people expect.

Maybe I’m biased as a cold-weather enjoyer. Sometimes I find myself getting homesick and missing the winters of Minnesota - surrounded by snow, meandering on its way to the ground, keeping you company on winter walks. What’s the equivalent of an unexpected dust of snow in warmer climates? Sudden rain showers are not as pleasant. Let me know if you can think of an alternative. Optimizing for dusts of snow seems like a good idea if you’re naturally a brooder.