Nichiren Daishonin

Winter’s Certainty of Returning to Spring

Applied to ordinary experience, “winter” might be illness, grief, unemployment, conflict, or a long season of self-doubt. The quote doesn’t promise an immediate reversal, but it offers a way to interpret the present: as a temporary climate rather than a permanent identity. That reframing can protect people from despair’s most damaging claim—that nothing will ever change. For example, someone rebuilding after a failure often discovers that small routines—showing up, seeking help, practicing a skill—become the unseen roots of the coming spring. Progress may be slow, but it accumulates beneath the surface. [...]