The Inner Wisdom of Winter.An Advent Meditation.

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. William Blake

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation. Paul Theroux

While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best. Tom Allen

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness? John Steinbeck

The four seasons are often used to depict the human journey. Frequently, each season is described in sequence, with Spring embracing birth and young life, Summer holding early adulthood through a time of generativity, Autumn gathering in the fruits of our labours, and Winter as the crucible for the completion of the lifecycle. And then it all begins over again. As in the natural world, there are no guarantees that any life will see all four seasons. Each season is at the same time powerful, beautiful and fragile -- like the web of a spider or the wings of a butterfly. Furthermore, any one season, Winter for example, can be experienced at any point along life’s journey. This may happen when the outer events of life begin to recreate the inherent characteristics of the season. Though we may be in the heart of spring sowing and planting, the death of a loved one or the loss of a job can cause our souls to contract, drawing us deep inside to a winter place of self-protection, dormancy and darkness. But how do we learn of the seasons? For those of us who live in a climate that experiences four distinct seasons, our classroom for developing a seasonal appreciation is the natural world. If we have the means, we can opt in or out of winter pastimes such as skating, skiing and tobogganing. However, core seasonal elements such as less light and more cold, simply come with the territory. Like snow, we can't go around it; we've got to shovel through it! Much of the work of therapy is winter work. A common time to seek help is when something or someone precious has been lost or has died. Mourners often find themselves in what they describe as a winter-like time, devoid of comfort or guidance. Yet we know from observing the actual season, the greatest mysteries of winter lie beneath the snow. Rest and dormancy and darkness bundle life together. Pruning happens. Shells break open. Children love winter and describe the experience as "magical" and like no other time of the year. Darkness teaches how to live with fear, how to find warmth, how to create fire in order to stay alive. For many, the unexpected surprise of grief counselling is a reconnection to winter wisdom; to things we learned in the snow as children as we faced the cold and the dark; a wisdom that prepared us for times or seasons that would bring isolation and sadness. In Canada, the Christian Season of incarnation and the Jewish Season of Light and the African tradition of Kwanza all occur in the dark of Winter. It's Winter time. It's cold out there. Come inside. Find a candle and a cup. There's much to be experienced beneath the snow.

Our Annual Category Winners – 2014!

Many Christmas cards ago, I began to try to keep a list throughout the year of some of the "hot tips" our clients had on books, movies, places to eat and things to see that had inspired, helped or healed. Here's a sampling for 2014 from the West Toronto Counselling Network’s annual Festive Celebration: Doug Schmidt (DS), Joan Marsman (JM), Margotte Kaczanowska (MK), Rhea Plosker (RP) and me (WC).

Movies that Moved Us: The Lunchbox (MK). "A delicious treat to wash away the taste of prefab Hollywood love stories, The Lunchbox

is a film to savour. The independently produced, mainly Hindi-language film is set in Mumbai and revolves around the relationship between Ila, a neglected housewife, and Saajan Fernandes, an accountant and widower near retirement. Two strangers in a city of 13 million, they are connected by Mumbai's legendary lunchbox service." (CBC review: The Buzz)

Pride (RP). "PRIDE is inspired by an extraordinary true story. It’s the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers’ families. Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person. As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all." (CBS Films review)

The Theory of Everything (DS). "This is the extraordinary story of one of the world's greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of - time." (Rotten Tomatoes)

Walking the Camino (JM): Six Ways to Santiago. "…follows various pilgrims, from ages three to 73, as they attempt to cross an entire country on foot - with only a backpack, a pair of boots and an open mind. Driven by an inexplicable calling and a grand sense of adventure, each pilgrim throws themselves heart and soul into their physical trek to Santiago de Compostela, and most importantly, their personal journey to themselves." (IMDb review)

Philomena (WC). With the help of a solid, true, story, well told with excellent acting, I was transported to a part of human experience I had no knowledge or experience of whatsoever. It stayed with me for days.

Tasty food in our 'hood: El Cubano on Roncesvalles. The vibrant colours and smells and light drew me in. The black bean soup made

me stay (WC). Bread and Roses on Bloor near Runnymede. The 'new' (10 years?) owners have stayed faithful to the

founders winning combination of hearty soups and sandwiches and all manner of tasty baking. Crowded to eat-in; great for local businesses to take-out. Bloor and Runnymede.

Favourite Cinema: The Revue on Roncesvalles. One of Toronto's oldest theatres, with several past-lives, the current life as a

community based non-profit is perhaps the best of times (WC).

Favourite local bookstore, story: For several years, our local Chapters and Book City seemed poised to close. Book City did in 2011. Then

Chapters last year. And then there were none. But low and behold, Book City was reborn in 2014. Hurray!

Best Coffee Shop: Red Bean Espresso. Iris sails the only independent vessel in a sea of local shops and it's right across the

street from our office. Enjoy.