We enter the month of Poh (mid-December to mid-January), and in many places around the world, the winter is getting harsher, more hardened. Whatever was green around us is all dried out now, frozen and unable to grow. In this month, in this cold, the earth holds its breath in a collective pause. We seekers, too, creatures of the natural world, look around us and ask ourselves, will this external pausing cause a pause for me within? Will it cause a pause in my love for the beloved IkOankar (the One)?

The days are shorter; we get up later; the darkness falls earlier, and we feel lethargic and lazy. All the things we enjoyed in other seasons have stopped. We wonder if the connection with the One will stop for us, too.

In this season, in this state of being, Guru Nanak Sahib gives us the words to ask for connection:

Why don’t You come and dwell in my mind, body, and mouth?

This ask is so simple, so vulnerable. Why don’t you come and dwell within me? Guru Nanak Sahib reminds us that in the changing seasons, nature takes its different forms. The Beloved is in all forms and is always present. Even in this long and harsh pause, the external environment is not dead, and neither is our internal environment. We can ask for presence!

If we can remain internally warmed by the knowledge that the Beloved pervades all, this extreme winter cannot harden us. We will become seekers who, rather than looking for the Beloved externally, ask the Beloved, can You reveal Yourself within me so that I can feel that warmth? So I can meet You within, through this love?

Guru Nanak Sahib continues:

That being, having immersed in love, having become an enjoyer of Your love, whose love and affection is with You, enjoys union,.

In this state of remembrance and connection, vulnerability and intimacy, the harshness of this season loses its power. Remembrance is in the mind, in the body, and on the tongue. We enjoy this through the Word of Wisdom. If we reach this point, we are continuously enjoying the Love, savoring the Love, and remaining with the One in Love.

May we become engrossed in the Love of the Beloved, regardless of the season. May we enjoy this Love.
May we savor every moment in Love.

May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!