It’s an interesting picture, isn’t it? With the rime clinging to the golden shaft of hay while the sun rises in the background. As I drove past this field covered in similar reeds, the way the ice reflected and refracted the sunlight created a beautiful sparkling effect over the tops of the stems as I went along. I couldn’t help but park my car and walk back down to snap a picture, certainly to the confusion of passersby on their way to work.

When I get off at 7:30 a.m. these days, working overnight as I do now, the sun is just beginning to appear over the rooftops of the city and my car is laden with frost just like these fronds. With some effort, I open my frozen door and retrieve my scraper to set about cleaning my windows. I clean off every inch of all eight of them leaving only a thin line of ice around the edges I can’t reach. Do I need to clean all my windows so meticulously? Do I require every line of sight the clear windows will afford me? No, but I do it anyway. It’s almost become ritualistic for me, standing in the cold with scraper in one hand and bottle of deicer in the other (as an aside, I just had to look up whether “deicer” is actually a word because the spelling checker flagged “de-icer.” It is! And it looks very strange in type). The act signals to me the end of my work day, gives me time to reflect on everything I did or did not accomplish and gives me time to think about my plan for the day. It’s moments like this that go unappreciated in the fast-paced world in which we live. Most people see it as an inconvenience but, when faced with one of those menial tasks or time sinks you can’t avoid, don’t get annoyed, just try adopting a different perspective. Waiting in line for lunch? No better time for personal reflection. Filling your car with gasoline? Review your day.

Maybe it’s just me. I’ve always said that I probably have a low resting blood pressure because of how I tend to simply “go with the flow” in life. That being said, when there’s something that demands my attention, like my job, I do it with conviction because, in this case, that time isn’t my own but my employer’s which has been purchased from me. Part way through my act of ice scraping I realize I’ve neglected to actually start my car so it’ll be warmed up when I’m finished, a clear indication of my nature. I don’t mind though, it can’t be helped and getting annoyed over it wouldn’t be in any way profitable.

God Bless.