Well, here we are again, the end of another February. Winter lingers. More than lingers, it’s like the last drunk at the bar who won’t go home even though the chairs are being turned up on the tables and the vacuum is howling. 

And, as anxious as I am for spring, I’m not nearly as anxious as my dearly beloved for whom each new snowfall is like a vice tightening on her sanity. I have learned that when it’s snowing and she is bemoaning the endlessness of winter,  commiseration is the only acceptable response; it is unwise to mention any possible upside to this long, dark winter. 

The fact is though, the isolation of a Canadian winter, the quiet of the snow blanket, the long nights, the icy freeze that prompts a desire to stay close to the fire,  does indeed cause one to shift into a much more introspective space than the busy fun of summer will allow. Introspective and creative. 

This winter has really exemplified that for both Lori and I. Each in our own way, we have had a very creative and productive winter. I have spent most days, aside from the shovelling and ice breaking, in my studio writing and recording and producing a bunch of new music. Lori has spent her days in her studio working on creating an online radio station which is now up and running and which provides her with the ability to do what she most wants to do which is to play her favourite music and talk about it. In fact, as I write this, she is broadcasting ‘live’ to her small but growing audience. 

The cool thing is that when we are engaged in these labours of love we forget all about the world outside. We are absolutely present in our own little ‘happy land’, oblivious to the wind and the snow and the general madness ongoing outside of our cocoons. 

 And speaking of the madness… 

I wonder, sometimes, if getting away from it, from the news feed, the slander and judgement, the opinions and spin, might not be the best thing I could do for my general health and well-being. The trouble is it’s an addiction of sorts, almost like Sunday football or Hockey Night in Canada. When it comes to world affairs I, like most other folks, have my favourite teams so, naturally, I’m interested in how they are doing in the day to day struggle for power and influence which may, or may not, eventually actually affect me. Sad to say it is all too often just another form of grizzly entertainment not unlike the Roman Circus in that most of us, it seems to me, end up cheering for the lions in whatever form they may appear. And in the general confusion, of course, there can be no consensus; one man’s lions are another man’s Christians. 

But all that aside, and even though I long for shorts and tank tops, I have genuinely appreciated this winter and am pleased with what it’s chilly days have brought me.

And I understand it is unlikely that I will become an information hermit any time soon. Perhaps because, in my heart of hearts, I believe that all the world is just a game, or rather, a dream of a game that must ultimately be played to a draw, with no winners or losers; just a wake-up and a wondering, “What the hell was that  all about?” 

See what I mean about winter and introspection?