On the Quiet Joys of a Northern Winter
Winter arrives by accumulation.
Cold settles into bark, breath, and ground
with a deliberation that reshapes habit.
Morning light advances slowly across snow,
testing surface and contour,
revealing texture rather than spectacle.
Time appears less inclined to rush
and more attentive to sequence.
The body responds through economy.
Movement grows intentional.
Warmth is held carefully.
Attention contracts towards what sustains it
and remains there without distraction.
Sound acquires density.
Footsteps soften.
Distance compresses.
Silence gathers substance
and becomes legible.
Trees stand with their structure exposed.
Form persists without embellishment.
I recognize a kind of clarity here,
an architecture that holds
through restraint alone.
Beneath ice, the river continues its labor.
Current maintains direction through pressure and memory.
Surface stillness coexists with motion below,
a reminder that work often survives
outside visibility.
Abundance reveals itself differently.
Enough becomes measurable.
Excess loses relevance.
Vitality sharpens through reduction
rather than accumulation.
Twilight arrives early
and occupies the hours generously.
Light redistributes across snow and cloud,
thinning without disappearance,
changing currency rather than value.
Walking at dusk loosens the day’s grip.
Edges soften.
Thought slows into alignment with breath.
The body adapts to dimness
through instinct rather than effort.
Joy appears as steadiness.
Breath remains unbroken.
Warmth persists without pursuit.
Satisfaction gathers quietly
through maintenance rather than acquisition.
The body experiences fewer divisions.
Need and capacity draw closer.
Desire adjusts its scale.
This proximity produces calm,
earned through discipline.
Night deepens.
Stars sharpen their positions.
Cold clarifies distance.
Standing beneath them,
I recognize proportion without distress.
Dawn returns through patience.
Light advances incrementally,
testing horizon and surface
before committing fully to form.
Living within this rhythm teaches fidelity.
Attention remains present.
Continuation takes precedence over urgency.
Staying becomes an ethic.
Winter concentrates life.
Survival proceeds with intention.
Rest acquires legitimacy.
The season moves through the body
with composed intelligence.
As morning opens again,
gratitude arises without demand.
The day arrives through allowance,
not assurance.
This knowledge steadies perception.
Living dawn, flowing twilight,
the season inhabits me
through breath, muscle, and awareness.
I remain available to its instruction.
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About
Leena Joshi is an award-winning poet, environmental artist, social entrepreneur, and founder and executive director of Climate Conservancy. She is the author of Ethereal and The Climate Awakening. Her work has been featured in international journals, magazines, galleries, museums, and global forums. A TEDx speaker who has spoken at Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge, her writing blends ecological witnessing with lyrical introspection to trace the quiet ties between the human spirit and the natural world.
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