How to Avoid Burnout: Declare A Snow Day

Taken from my Brown Suede Dragon journal, January 7, 2022

This is one of the few entries I’ve written where I’ve come up with a title before actually writing it. Usually, I need to get my thoughts on the page before I have an idea about what to call it. It’s sort of like that quote that goes something like…

Anyway, this week we’ve had two major snow days. The first yielded around six inches, the second only about one and a half to two inches. I’ve just finished re-reading the first chapter of Julia Cameron’s Walking in this World (WITW for short).

The last section of the chapter is simply titled “Snow.” As I read it, I occasionally found myself looking out our dining room window at all the snow that hasn’t yet melted away. There’s still quite a bit left, and with a high temp of only twenty degrees or so, it’s likely to stay there a day or two longer.

Author’s Note: As I write this, we’re on the backside of yet another four- to six-inch snowfall. Also, if you're interested, I previously wrote another interesting blog post based on Julia Cameron's "Morning Pages" from her first book The Artist's Way.

My adventure staring out the window got me thinking about the idea and main thought of this entry. Melissa (my wife) has been out of school for the past three days due to the snow. This is only two days after going back to school after a two to three-week Christmas/Winter break. So here’s my thought: What if we declared “Snow Days” for ourselves every now and then?

The snow comes down in flurries with snowflakes of all different shapes and sizes. We’ve had plenty of variety the last several days. And not only does it represent purity in its brilliant whiteness; it represents a kind of rest and reset.

Rest in the fact that, because of the icy/slushy roads, you have to stay home and are cut off from society, your job, and other people. Such solitude pushes you into recuperation until, at the very least, a snow plow clears the way—and even then you must slow down in arriving at each and every destination or you risk collision with outside forces.

Even more exciting and refreshing: as the snow melts, it washes away impurities and renews the beauty of the once snow-hidden world beneath. We see the world anew once again—and are once again renewed in our spirits—excited to venture out into the vast wilderness that it really is. Everything has been reset, the slate cleaned. The game of life starts over, and you have a chance to rescue the princess, find the lost artifact, beat the "Big Boss."

Such would be the case if we allowed ourselves a respite from our hectic, hustle-and-bustle, grasping-and-grinding way of life. Declare a “Snow Day” more often and experience for yourself a spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional rest and reset.

And when the snow clears, your soul will be cleansed, refreshed, and ready for adventure once again.

For more great ideas on writing down your thoughts, check out the books below and some of my other recommended writing books.

If you’ve found this content to be valuable to you, please share it with others whom you feel it will also benefit by using the share buttons conveniently located below. Also, be sure and add this page to your favorites or bookmarks for future reference. And if you have any insights or comments, leave them in the comments below. Thank you.

Hungry for more content? Check out my other blog posts and courses...