GRATEFULNESS FOR SNOW??

We are finally digging out! After record breaking snow-fall for the New York area, the roads are passable, electricity has been restored ,we can once again catch sight of the rooftops our our cars, and the economy which lost billions of dollars in non-productivity is humming once again. And of course, to the great delight of parents, children have returned to school.
The weather is a phenomenon of nature that is inevitable, over which we have no control. We can anticipate it, we can prepare for it; we can't stop it! But we can cultivate an inner attitude toward what it is and how it affects are lives.
The snow storm brought much suffering to many. People lost their lives, income, and budget commitments.Dangerous roads and sidewalks caused innumerable accidents; the homeless and unprotected shivered in the snow's wetness, and dreamed of sunny days when the sun's warming rays would once again be free for all to bask in.
On the surface, there was not much to be grateful for.
Yet, what stands out in my memory of this unusual event are recollections that do in fact elicit a deep sense of gratitude for this wonderful gift of nature. The sheer and utter glee of children being informed that the following day school would be closed rang out like the peals of the liberty bell throughout the hallways of my apartment building; the hundreds of children transported to a fairy land of pure white joy, sliding and skating and romping in the snow , filled my heart with a lightness of being that swept away the coldness of the wintry air.
The innumerable kindnesses and courtesies that I encountered reminded me of the basic goodness of people; and the beauty of white's purifying power as the world took comfort and refuge under a blanket of silken flakes, allowed us to hear winter's symphony , the silence of our own pure souls.
In three weeks spring will officially arrive; until then, we will wind our ways through slush, water and mud. White will wash away into shades of brown and gray, until finally the world will explode into a rainbow of colors bringing the message of renewed life and new awakening.
For all of the shades of life, for an-ever changing world of unexpected surprises and unfortold phenomena, we open our hearts and greet it all with "thank you."