As the snow began to pile up outside this morning, I heard the little voice in my head squeal “Oh, this isn’t good” as it scanned the checklist for the day.

A quick-accumulated foot of snow meant that maybe the couch scheduled for delivery today would be canceled. Perhaps after the snowplow came by, creating a berm at the end of the driveway, I wouldn’t be able to get my vehicle out to run the errands also planned for today. All the items piled up near the front door wouldn’t make their way back to their people and would remain cluttering up the entryway of my already overstuffed house.

I noticed how quick my mind was to judge the snowfall as a negative simply from the selfish perspective it would have on my plans. As soon as the thought left the part of my brain where it was created and traveled to the part where I “heard” it, I realized the error of my ways.

Ever in an effort to find gratitude, in its many hidden places, I abruptly remembered that this snow is so good for our mountains. An abundant snow pack is much needed for our summer water supply and is certainly welcome news to the ski resorts and related businesses.

We tend to be such judging creatures, often seeking to categorize and calculate our way through life. As a believer in the Buddhist philosophy of nonattachment, here was yet another practice opportunity to simply notice what is and accept it with equanimity — as neither good nor bad — or, more correctly, containing elements of both as everything in nature does.

So now, as I sit here comfortably snuggled in my bed beneath the quilts of my ancestors, dogs asleep at my feet and a fresh cup of coffee nearby, pen in hand, my perspective of the unstoppable snowfall has changed. The view through the sliding glass door is pristine, bright, clean, fresh, innocent, relaxing and mesmerizing.

A wise woman named Siri once said “recalculating,” and that is exactly what I’ve done. Whether the new sofa arrives today or another day, whether the errands are run now or days from now, it really doesn’t matter so long as we can free our minds from the imprisonment of our own plans and expectations.

When we learn to be a grateful observer, we can finally become appreciative of every current moment and locate the perhaps very tiny ember of goodness that the universe builds into everything.

Next time, and really every time, you find yourself frustrated, angry, disappointed or challenged by what life doles out, take a breath, take a moment, and see if you can find the light in the darkness. There amongst the raw truth is always a nugget of wisdom waiting for us. We just have to be willing to sift amongst the ruins of our pain to find the gift of peace.

— Sana Hayes is a free spirit, as comfortable in a tiara as she is in pajamas. She writes to better encounter the radiant self in each of us. Contact her at cowgirlsana@gmail.com.