Imagine walking through the snow into a forest full of pine trees
As you stop amongst the trees, all you can hear is the silence
and the crunch of your boots as you walk through the snow.
A slight cool breeze rustles through the trees moving the limbs
as the branches sway back and forth to the rhythm of the breeze.
Snow left on the branches gently falls down slowly, as small flakes
As they hit your coat and face, they sit for a moment before melting away.
An owl sits up high on one of the branches looking down at you and the world all around.
The sky is clear, and there is a glimmer of the moon lighting the path ahead
And, at the end of the path, is a log cabin with a light on in the window
and a fire burning in the fireplace, waiting quietly for its owner to return.

It is that time of year again
Smells of fur trees
Doors decorated with wreaths
Ornaments glistening as they are hung
Beautiful bright colors of red, silver , gold , green and blue
Houses adorned in lights
Cookies being baked
Gingerbread men being decorated
Choirs singing songs
People running to and fro
Cities and towns decorated in their holiday best
Friends and families come together to celebrate the season

It’s  a winter wonderland
The holiday lights are out
Houses decorated at their best
Scents of pine waft through the air
Snow is lightly falling
It’s a winter wonderland

Streets are full of people
Running to and fro
Buying their wares
Shops are decorated
Its a winter wonderland
It’s like magic
Once a year
That touches the heart
Deep inside
Making people lighter
Smiles are brighter and bigger
Laughs deeper

It’s a winter wonderland
Believe

It’s the season
It comes just once a year
It’s special
It brings
Lots of memories
Togetherness
Good cheer
It’s the holiday spell
It’s magical
It’s a time to come together
Bring light not darkness
To reach out
Offering kindness
and glad tidings
To one and all
So free yourself
By letting go
Allowing the
magic to touch you
Lifting you up

Words can hurt
They can cut into the soul
Leaving deep wounds
Sometimes they remain
Never healing
Words can also uplift
They can heal
Touch one’s spirit
Inspire
Bring hope
Or they can break the spirit
Playing over and over
Bringing darkness
Destroying creativity
Or they can bring light
Inspiring great artwork
Literature and music
Tempt the imagination
They can break hearts
Or mend them
Cause tears
Or stop them
It all depends
Which words are used
Choose carefully
Words

It's coming to that time of year again
When familiar sights, sounds and smells seep into the memory and the mind
Putting up the tree
Decorating
Scents of pine
Pies and cookies baking
Cards and letters being
When holiday lights and decorations appear
And holiday tunes are playing
Shoppers  crowding the streets, looking for the perfect gift
People take on the holiday hustle and bustle
Light snowflakes dance through the air to their own rhythm

Holiday memories make everything special

Wind chimes rattling in the wind,
playing their own kind of tune
Clattering sounds of them hitting
against the metal grate
as the wind whips through them

Trees bending in the wind, void of their foliage and green moving
to their own kind of rhythm
Snow lightly falling and blowing around like cotton candy strands
before gently nesting on the ground or other surfaces
It is the coming of winter and the start of the a new cycle in the
weather for the year
Cold easing its way into homes, bodies and open spaces replacing
the warm heat of the summer with a new found friend
Temperatures dropping outside bringing a frigid feel to
the day and evening
Nighttime chills and darkness befall the city as it gets ready to put
its nightcap on for the sleep that is slowly coming