Snow. Full Stop.

There’s a particular quiet that arrives with snow. Yet this time what I observed was a lot of chaos, cancelled flights and trains and traffic jams and people falling off their bikes. As the Netherlands is experiencing this perhaps unusual weather which has slowed the rhythm of everyday life. Everything feels softened, muted, and somehow, a little more deliberate.

Snow doesn’t just fall; it also requires us to slow down. To adjust. To pay attention.

Psychologists have shown that resistance to change is a common human response - rooted in our brains’ desire for predictability and control. People often favour familiar routines and environments, and change tends to trigger fear of the unknown or a perceived loss of agency. For example, individual psychological frameworks identify traits such as routine seeking, emotional reactions to change, cognitive rigidity, and a short‑term focus as stable predictors of one’s resistance to change in the face of new circumstances. (bschool-en.huji.ac.il)

This tendency isn’t just abstract: in organisational and social settings, resistance manifests in real behaviours and emotions - from silent hesitation to overt opposition - and it can shape how we adapt (or don’t) to changing conditions around us. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

I reflected on the snow these days as a metaphor for that inner resistance. Like unexpected shifts in life - job changes, relationship transitions, climate shifts - snow can disrupt our sense of control. Most of us want the warmth of routine, the assurance of comfort, the expectation of “normal.” But winter doesn’t consult us before arriving. And there is wisdom in noticing that.

There is growing evidence that slowing down, noticing nature, and giving ourselves space to breathe - rather than resisting - supports mental well‑being. Research shows that exposure to natural environments improves mood, lowers anxiety, increases calmness, and enhances positive emotional states compared with staying indoors or in built environments alone. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

This isn’t about chasing productivity - it’s about presence. Snow invites presence. Snow forces it. And when we slow down enough to truly perceive the world - the cold, the whiteness, the sharp outlines against soft flurries - we remind ourselves that not everything needs to be rushed or controlled.

Snow slows us by circumstance, not design. In that slowing, we are offered something rare: an invitation to reflect, to recalibrate, and to engage with change without resistance but with curiosity and care.

To resist change is human.
Change may be inevitable, but it is not our enemy. It is the invitation: to slow, to notice, and to embrace life’s unexpected beauty - one flake at a time.