This is the time of year where we get to see our true colors, the beauty of who we are beyond all our rules. We also realize the fruits of the effort over the last year. It is a time of breakthroughs to acknowledge all of the work we’ve put in throughout the year. It is also a time to celebrate and be grateful for all we have.

We often think of winter as the month where we feel most starved, but I can't imagine a more difficult time than waiting for the harvest. As we enter winter, we have a bounty of food to sustain us. That's why we celebrate with gifts to welcome the winter season. The fall is when we build our stores, so summer is when we find our coffers empty. We must earn the sustenance we get this season. We must work for every morsel, and it must be enough to feed the hard work this season demands of us.

Whispering comes the promise of new life everywhere. The early bloom of flowers, the buds on trees, all promise us the coming of a warmer season. But spring is not the complete revealing of our full potential. It marks only a moment of breaking free of the soil, of—after a long, dark winter’s night—the coming into light again.