Daily Nourishment for December 21, 2024: The Landscape of Winter
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 60 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
A grey sky which for hours
spelled snow
restrained itself, then shyly
sent a scattering of flakes
-H.C. ten Burge
Pause.
Take six deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale while looking at the painting below.
If you like, pray this prayer, In the Midst of Winter by Cal Wick:
Lord:
In the midst of Winter, when the days are cold and wind can pierce remind us of the warmth of your love.
In the midst of Winter, when days are short, dawn comes late, and dusk arrives early remind us that in the darkness your light still shines.
In the midst of Winter, when the flowers of spring still lie hidden in the earth, when leaves are off the trees, and the world can seem bleak remind us that Easter is but a short time away.
And when in our lives we feel as if we are experiencing a season of winter, reach out to us with the power of your resurrection so that we may feel the warmth of your love and see your light that alone can take away the darkness of our soul.
Winter Landscape
Jacob van Ruisdael
1660s
Birmingham Museum of Art
Practice.
Set a timer for seven minutes and write in response to the prayer, poem, and/or painting above or the questions and statements below.
—Write one sentence about winter.
—How does the weather you notice on a daily basis affect your writing and creative practice?
—How do you notice and honor the changing of the seasons? How do you want to notice and honor the changing of the seasons?
—Begin writing a new poem, story, essay, or letter using today’s weather where you are as the beginning. Include themes connected to Advent if you like.
Want More?
Here’s more information about Dutch painter Jacob van Ruisdael from the Birmingham Museum of Art:
Ruisdael is considered one of the greatest Dutch landscape painters. Of the nearly 700 paintings in his oeuvre, this work, signed in the lower left, is one of only about thirty winter scenes. Here Ruisdael aptly captured the hushed, late afternoon chill of a Dutch winter’s day. Every element serves to intensify the mood, including the cool tonality of the palette, the blustery storm clouds fast approaching, and the feathery foliage white with frost. Yet people still go about their daily business, unperturbed by the gloomy weather. Ruisdael’s paintings are sometimes interpreted as expressing an underlying moral theme. Here the decayed vegetation at the water’s edge might embody the inevitable transience of nature, and correspondingly, of human life.
Here’s another winter landscape by Jacob van Ruisdawel. “This scene is dominated by ominous dark clouds, and lit from the left by low, raking sunlight. The warmly dressed figures on the ice seem insignificant in the face of this inclement weather. A cheerful crowd of ice skaters would have been out of place in such a wintery landscape by Ruisdael.”
And here’s one more of his winter landscapes because why not.
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Resources, Workshops, & Gatherings:
—Advent Resources: Throughout Advent, I’ll include a new resource each day. For today, here’s a lovely children’s book about the Winter Solstice. And an SDW writer read the “Broken” chapter from Scott Erickson’s Honest Advent during today’s co-writing session. I highly recommend that chapter!
—Become an SDW Insider: (Free) Weekly emails, behind-the-scenes updates, reminders for free SDW Co-Writing sessions, early access to gatherings and retreat registrations, occasional offers and gifts, bonus resources, and more. Email Charlotte at charlotte@charlottedonlon.com to be added to the SDW Insiders.
—New Resource: Parenting with Art® Lectio Divina Cards Information about ordering these cards can be found in my Books + Spiritual Direction + Retreats & Gatherings email newsletter . To stay in the loop on all of my work, writing, book recs, and more, subscribe to that weekly newsletter at charlottedonlon.com/subscribe.
Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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