The cycles of nature are more than a metaphor for our lives - they are at the heart of life itself. Life basks in the glory of the light half of the year, but the journey doesn't start there. A new life has its roots in the depths of winter, on the coldest of nights, being nurtured by the inner warmth of the earth under a blanket of snow. As the snow thaws, that once insurmountable barrier lifts and the seed sprouts forth, soaking in the sun and rain of spring. In summer the plant matures and brings forth new life.