It’s COLD. Well, in theory, it should be cold – at least in the Northern Hemisphere. Thanks to climate change, it’s probably very goddamn cold or unseasonably warm? Who even knows; this timeline is bananas. Anyway, let’s pretend for a moment that the sky is iron-gray, snow blankets the ground, the trees are robed in white, and there is a bone-deep chill in the air. This is a scent series intended to thaw your heart, soothe your spirit, and wrap you in the warmth of good cheer, lively conversation, and friendship.

Here’s to friends being a light in the darkness.

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. Hal Borland’s reassurance feels especially poignant now, in a year that has asked so much of us. It has been a challenging season in countless ways: globally, locally, intimately. The darkness has felt long, the chill of countless terrors freezing the breath in our lungs and the beat of our hearts. And yet, threaded through every difficult moment is a truth that refuses to dim: we are not meant to walk through any of this alone.

Community is not a luxury in times like these; it is a lifeline. It is the network of hands that lift us up when we falter, it is the shelter against the storm. In dark times, community becomes the architecture of hope, built from small acts of care: a meal cooked, a message sent, a burden shared.

Love, too, becomes a form of courage during periods of extreme upheaval. It is the choice to remain open-hearted despite the horrors. Compassion is love’s companion; supporting those who are vulnerable, asking for help when we need it, offering comfort without being asked… this is what will keep the cold from taking root inside us.

No winter lasts forever. And when the thaw comes – when sunlight returns to the edges of our days – it will be because we kept one another warm. With the strength we find in each other, with the communities we build and nurture, we will see spring again together soon.

Hold onto each other. We’re all we have.