Tracks in the Snow

We haven’t had snow in a few weeks but one of my favorite things about winter is when there is a fresh layer of snow on the ground. This is when the sun sets the water crystals to sparkle mode and you need sunglasses so that you can look at it. It is pristine and beautiful. It is almost perfect, and then someone takes a step into it, or an animal runs through it. It has just been changed and can never go back to what it was before, which doesn’t necessarily make it bad just changed.

Just as the new snow shows off it’s beauty so can the words that come out of our mouths. They can show the beauty that lies within if we chose to show it. Sometimes though the wrong words come out, and the beauty gets marred, just like the footsteps in the snow. If only we could keep the ugly out of our mouths, but we are not perfect and so we trudge on and instead of seeing what we did as unforgivable, we do our best to mend what was said and work to be better. Just as with the snow, there may be footprints but what if they were made to get to the perfect spot to make a snowman or snow angel? An ugly footprint could lead to something magical.

I don’t know about you but there are days in which I get home from work or from some activity and I process the day and think about my words and actions. Sometimes it’s a “pat on the back” knowing that my filter was on and I didn’t act or saying anything too damaging or embarrassing. On other days it a “slap to the forehead” kind of realization that I said something I shouldn’t have and must apologize for it in the morning. I hate those kind of days, but I do have them so instead of dwelling on them and trying to make them like “new snow” I press forward and hope to find a way to create snowmen.

Words once they leave your mouth cannot be unspoken, actions once done cannot be undone. When we chose to look at the situations we are faced with and try and be as patient as we can be, and as kind as we can be, it may take more work but in the end it is worth it. It’s as if we overlook the footprints so that we can see why they were created. What if what caused the imprints was something of beauty? Have you ever seen a herd of deer quietly existing in a meadow? What if the snow that was disrupted was in a playground in which kids were having fun. What if the words that needed to be said seemed hurtful at the time to the one receiving them, but they were said to help the person grow and be a better person? What if the actions caused hurt but when all things were worked out, the people involved could relate better with each other? Until next time:

Did you know?

No one can destroy iron, but it’s own rust can, likewise no one can destroy a person, but his own mindset can.

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