January 21, 2026
Winter has a way of stripping things down.
Fewer people outside. Less noise. Less rushing for the sake of rushing. Even the air feels honest. It hurts your face a little. It makes you pay attention.
This week in New Jersey, we are staring down single digit temperatures. Eight or nine degrees. Cold enough that you double check the thermostat, stand a little closer to the door before committing, and rethink whether that errand can wait another day.
I know that kind of cold barely registers in some places. But context matters. What feels extreme depends on where you live, what you are used to, and how long you have had to adapt.
Cold has a way of doing that. It forces comparison. It makes memory surface. It asks quiet questions without asking them out loud.
And that is where today’s Thought of the Day and Question of the Day meet.
Thought of the Day
“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.” J.R.R. Tolkien
This Thought of the Day is deceptively simple.
Looking is not the same as seeing. Looking is an act of intention. It is the choice to slow down and pay attention instead of letting the world blur past you.
Cold weather helps with that.
When it is cold, you notice things you usually ignore. The sound of boots on frozen pavement. The way your breath hangs in the air for half a second before disappearing. The small rituals that keep you warm. Gloves. Coffee. The relief of stepping back inside.
Looking is often uncomfortable. It requires presence. It asks you to stay with what is happening instead of escaping it.
That is why this Thought of the Day pairs so naturally with winter. Cold removes the illusion that you can drift through your day unnoticed. You are either paying attention, or you are miserable.
There is a quiet discipline in that.
I was reminded of this while rereading an older post, Snow Falling in the Woods. It captures that moment when the world feels hushed and observant, as if everything is waiting for you to notice it before moving on.
Looking does not guarantee you will like what you find. But it almost always gives you something honest.
Question of the Day
What is the coldest temperature you have ever endured?
This Question of the Day came from a very practical place. The forecast. The coming days. That moment of realization when you think, oh, this is going to be one of those weeks.
For me, I do not know if I have ever been colder than four or five degrees. I remember it not because it was dramatic, but because it was clarifying. Everything else faded into the background. Staying warm became the only objective.
That is often what extreme cold does. It simplifies life. It strips away noise and leaves you with essentials.
Where were you when you experienced the coldest temperature of your life? Were you prepared, or did it catch you off guard? Did you feel resilient, or fragile, or both at the same time?
There is something revealing about those memories. They are rarely about the number on the thermometer. They are about how you adapted, who you were with, and what you learned about yourself in the process.
Another post that comes to mind is The Magic of a Snow Day: When the World Pressed Pause. It reminds me that cold does not only challenge us. Sometimes it grants permission to slow down.
The Question of the Day is not really about temperature. It is about thresholds. About the moments when conditions push us just far enough that we have to notice ourselves again.
Cold invites looking. Looking invites honesty. And honesty tends to linger longer than warmth.
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Sometimes all it takes is a little cold to help us see what has been there all along.
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