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Discontent, disillusionment, or dystopia?
The phrase “The Winter of our Discontent” came to my mind as I was preparing to write this post. But I wasn’t aware of where it came from. Turns out, John Steinbeck wrote a book with that title, drawn from the first line in Shakespeare’s Richard III. They are both dealing with moral corruption and the drive for material success. From around 1593 to 1961, to 2025, humanity keeps circling back to the same troubling state.
My intention in writing this blog is not to suggest a game plan or a solution for our current dilemma, but to help us all find peace in this storm we have been thrown into. (as of Dec. 2025) If we can find peace and stability in our own minds and hearts, we will be better equipped to be part of the solution when we are called upon to act.
So, let’s get back to contemplative practice:
I invite you to play some peaceful music, and sit in a quiet place while you observe the photo of the bare branches in the sunset. To capture that photo, I had to be quick, while the light was just right. Now, it is preserved for us to be able to take our time and be thankful for every sunset that is made more visible without the curtain of leaves.
Seeing Winter coming on is a visual reminder that even the Earth needs a break sometimes, on a regular, predictable schedule. The trees drop their leaves to prepare for enduring the cold months and focus on their inner lives.
I love seeing bare trees – to be able to see the maze of intricate lines that have been long hidden by leaves. And when the birds land on bare branches, they are clearly visible; not covered up as in Springtime.
Some verses for your contemplation:
Genesis 8:22: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease”
Psalm 147:16-18: “He sends snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. He hurls the hail like stones. Who can stand against his freezing cold? Then, at his command, it all melts. He sends his winds, and the ice thaws”.
2 Corinthians 4:16: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day”.
What should we do in the winter of OUR discontent?
Let’s pretend for a moment that we are all trees. Some of us drop our leaves and hibernate or hide, protecting what little energy we have and hoping all will be well by Spring. But some of us are “Evergreens”, keeping watch and fighting for us all to bring an end to this Winter madness.
Are you getting the metaphor? In December 2025 we need some of us to draw inward, hibernate, and gain strength for the big push when the time comes for re-building. And some of us need to stay strong and keep up the good fight to protect the forest through the dark time.
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