Upstater Magazine: Winter 2016

All forecasts point to a harsh winter. We are politically polarized and arctic winter is expected, but when the going gets tough, the tough gets going (preferably on snow tires), and “when the going gets weird,” as Hunter S. Thompson famously said, “the weird go pro.” We can let our freak flags fly-but only alongside everyone else’s. Whatever challenges come our way, tolerance is the only way forward. “Going pro” means being our best selves. Engage with every aspect of your life. Stand up for what’s right. Go artisanal, innovative, and real. Search for truth. Indulge your dreams, and master things you’ve never had time for. Pick up a guitar, a whisk, or a paintbrush. Mull wine. Fizz kombucha. Shape clay. Study a foreign language or the night sky. Grow your own yeast, then bake your own bread. In Scandinavia, winter is time to grow closer to friends and strangers by recreating summer, Hygge style. Fill your house with warmth, light, and color, and welcome in guests for frank but gentle conversation. So open your heart and home and let in the light. Anne Frank said it best: “Even a single candle defies and defines the darkness.”

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