A snowstorm is keeping many of us at home today in the New York City metropolitan area. There is a blizzard warning for this afternoon. The words "snow day" evoke great joy and excitement, especially in school children. All the area schools (including NYC schools which only cancel once every 10 years!) are closed and children will enjoy a day of sledding and snowball fights.
Of course, adults are working at home. With the advances in technology, a snow day is simply another work day. But I wonder if we can't tap into some of the joy of children on a day like this.
We can see a day where we're forced to stay home as incarceration or as liberation. To view this day in the former way is to see it as something forced upon us, a limiting of our freedom to go about our normal activities. But to view it in the latter way is to see this day as a gift of freedom from our normal routine.
Even if you're stuck working at home, you can take some time to get outside and play a little. Even walking around in the snow can be playful because it is so awkward. Children's play involves spontaneity and joy. Such play has a spiritual dimension because our souls are fed by joy. So, like children, let's welcome a snow day as the gift that it is!
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