The days between Christmas and my birthday used to take FOREVER when I was a child. What happened? Do children experience time in slo-mo, or are adults so unaware of every precious moment of every single day that they let time slip by?

We got hit with the first of several heavy snow storms on New Years Eve. The following night the electricity went out and left my community in the dark and cold for three and a half days. Since I had a woodstove (and wood!) available it became more of a Little House on the Prairie type experience for me.

The only pressure I experienced was having to have the chores done before nightfall. That included shoveling snow.. continuously, to be exact... then walking up the hill and through the woods to my other residence to.... you guessed it... shovel some more snow. I was determined to have my car not getting buried in the four feet we ended up with. Anyway, time was a factor, as I had to make it back to tend to the fire and get enough wood in for the night. Of course I could have walked in the dark. However, cougars are known to reside in the neighborhood and I'm simply not that brave.

Perfect peace settled in with the dark of the night. Surrounded by lots of candlelight and an oil lamp, I took out a forgotten handicraft I had started several years ago. Experiencing complete silence I immersed myself into the project while discovereing that time had shifted into slow motion once more. The "Prairie" concept was complete.

The buzzing, beeping and blinking associated with the return of electricity was almost a letdown. Nature forced me into three days of solitude and perhaps it was a gentle nudge, a reminder, that we all need to create our moments of peace and silcence.

Today, on my birthday, I have done just that. I'd like to share with you my favorite 'visual aid' to reach such a state of inner peace and reflection. Enjoy!