As I write it’s snowing so hard I wonder if the universe has a sense of humour –  this time last year the UK was basking in unbroken sunshine with temperatures in the twenties!

The weather right now is so unseasonal that somehow I can’t take it seriously. If it were the depths of January it would be different because then the days are short, the nights long and dark and all nature appears to be dormant. Thoughts of spring would be far away.

But now, at the end of March, we know that this must be the last gasp of winter. Under the white blanket there are daffodils and primroses in flower; the buds on trees and hedges are ready to burst open; and the birds have already been practicing their courting songs.

If the seasons are a metaphor for our own lives, we all go through periods of winter. We experience these as cold and dark, with our life-energy close to zero. It can seem that winter has become permanent.

But if we take our winter thoughts less seriously, by giving them less attention, we’ll begin to see signs of life. We’ll rediscover that under the snow there are the shoots of new growth, buds swelling with fresh life and brave blooms already showing. Then we can feel confident of coming out the other side.

We can be sure that our personal winter is a passing phase, soon to be succeeded by the warmth and joy of spring.