Last week, it was all over the news:

BEWARE! A GIANT SNOW AND ICE STORM IS BREWING IN THE SOUTHEAST!

It was like hearing a phrase from a beloved TV show (until they ruined it).

"WINTER IS COMING!"

And now Winter is definitely HERE, Reader.

This storm was a major disturbance to normal daily routines.

People (including myself, friends and family) spent extra time preparing for food shortages, transportation issues, and potential power outages. It changed our plans, forced decisions and revealed what mattered to us.

In the forest, when an old tree falls, it also creates a huge disturbance.

Often it crushes habitat, kills insects and animals, and clears a section of the canopy.

But that fallen tree also allows light into an area that had been shadowed for decades. Suddenly the forest floor wakes up. Seeds that have been waiting in the soil for years finally get the conditions they need to germinate and thrive. Space opens for new seeds to drop in from birds and wind.

What looked like destruction becomes an opening. A new direction emerges.

And this is how disturbance works everywhere.

Gusts of wind in sails, tides that rush the beach like they would gobble up children, sudden afternoon rains breaking the heat wave - these are all disturbances that change our plans and redirect our day.

And we need these sometimes volatile forces. They're what propel us forward into something different. They show us where to go, revealing what we're capable of becoming.

Even the smallest disturbance creates a portal:

• A deer's hoof makes a divot in fresh muddy soil after a rain.
• A wildflower seed blows through the wind and lands in that small depression.
• This minor wound in the earth becomes a tiny nursery.
• The potential for new life, a new direction, is born right there in the place that was broken open.

Our bodies are part of Nature too.

So... disease, depression, disorder, distress, and discomforts of all kinds work the same way...

When something hurts, breaks down, or we feel pressure building within, we're being given information. It's often a signal for a long needed change in our lives, if we can embrace and accept the challenge.

I've been paying close attention to disturbances in the landscape and in my own life for many years - ever since a deep-ecology mentor brought it to my attention, as the way life moves forward in cycles.

And the last few years have brought me plenty of opportunity to witness this truth: burnout, transitions, having to let things fall away so new things could grow... it's been intense.

Through all of it, I kept asking myself: what do I turn to when everything is stripped away?

What do I protect?
What do I refuse to compromise?
Where do I still find joy?
To whom do I keep giving?
What do I care most about?

When I slowed down long enough to embrace the disturbance, ask questions, and practice discernment, the process showed me a few of my Core Values:

Generosity.
Integrity.
Vision.
Ecology.
Reunion.

These words anchor me now. They give me direction. But I wouldn't have seen them so clearly without the disturbances (like long winters) that forced me to look within at what motivates me most.

Learning to read disturbance as direction rather than disaster, and gather discernment through the process - in ecosystems and in our own lives - takes practice.

We have to slow down enough to notice the signs. We have to trust that the wound might also be a portal.

Winter Wonder Scavenger Hunt Item #4 - Something Disturbed This week, look for signs of disturbance that reveal direction: Fallen branches under the weight of ice or snow Washed out soil from the melt A buck rub or a bent tree (native trail signs) A footprint or track in the mud Something that broke in the storm that showed you what mattered Watch for these signs of direction year round and you will start to learn the ways of Nature. Over time you will start to feel guided by these moments into clear direction around how to care for your Place. Next month's EarthCare Library item is a guide on How to Create Snags for Wildlife with broken or dying trees. You leave the trunk standing for bats, owls, woodpeckers and many other favorite creatures. ​Learn more about the EarthCare Library membership options here. ​

In my area, the BIG snow storm resulted in a nearly 2-foot deep, powdery, white snow covering the earth, with little to no damage this time. More ice would have been a different story.

As I plunged my boots into the powder for my daily walk, it sent me back to childhood when this kind of snow was more common in the colder winters. A little nostalgia and a lot of grief bubbled up, so I took that as direction, walked to my parents and played a long game of Wingspan, after a warm hot dinner.

I am one of the lucky ones.

Enjoying the storms,

Kendra

Ps. Have you been outside lately, Reader?

Send me photos of what you discover as you go on your winter wonder walks.

I want to see what's revealing itself in your Place.

And I’d love to hear what kind of direction you’re discerning through disturbance.

Written by a human - Kendra Marie Hoffman

​​“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall