In praise of survival

A trip to Canary Wharf for the Festival of Winter Lights

East Enders is one of Britain’s longest running TV shows (1985- present), telling the stories of tight knight east-end families. You can clearly see the Isle of Dogs here.

If you’re reading this, we survived January! Throughout most of human history, surviving the winter (especially in cold climates) has been no small task. In times and places without running water, indoor heating, and modern food preservation, making it through a cold winter without freezing, starving, or falling ill was striven for, not assumed. Since moving to the UK nearly a decade ago, I have learned to approach the long dark winter days of January with a certain amount of determination and forethought (like I described here last year). I find ways to be comforted, to find brightness in this dark month of winter. Goals, growth, and ambition— those are resolutions for Spring. In January, survival is enough.