Posted by Michael Finkelstein | March 11th, 2013

Moon When Eyes Are Sore from Bright Snow

Though Daylight Savings just took away an hour of our sleep this past weekend, we gained something that’s maybe more important, another hour of sunshine each day. Not only do we get another hour of sunlight to bask in, but that light is even stronger and more powerful now, as it reflects upon the blankets of white snow that still cover the terrain.

However, as much as we bask in the fact that spring is just around the corner and that the sun’s rays will inevitably melt away all the residual snow, revealing the new season of blossoms and growth, we also deal with the glare that hits us directly in one of our most precious senses – our vision. It seems very fitting that the Dakota Sioux, experiencing this same predicament, actually named a moon after it: Moon when eyes are sore from bright snow.

Let’s take a moment to ponder over the word selection we’ve been given here. Our indigenous ancestors chose to describe the eyes as “sore.” Perhaps we are being called to rest our eyes, to utilize one of our other common senses more heavily — smelling the snow that’s melting and the aroma of the thawing earth beneath….hearing and fully experiencing the winds of March, the rain of April and the birdsongs that greet us every morning….tasting the sun-kissed air and the leafy greens and vegetables that Mother Nature offers. Opening our your eyes, with our other senses filled this way, might actually allow us to appreciate all that we see on a whole different level. — Or perhaps the point is that we are not ready to look directly at the light and it pains us. Either way, we are reminded that spring is close, but not here just yet, and we must exercise one other sense, our sense of patience, naturally requiring us to bear some discomfort in the process.

While some still wish they could charge ahead and melt the snow with their own energy, nature’s unfolding takes time. So too is our life’s course. Seems that once again we need to take it one day at a time.

In that regard, simply enjoying yours today is a good place to be.