Snowed Down

How snow, chaos, and quiet moments reframed the start of my year

2026 started with a storm - quite literally.

Amsterdam was snowed down and gave its citizens and tourists a chaotic start to the year to remember.

Thousands of people got stranded at airports, either trying to enter or exit the country. Plans dissolved overnight, calendars were rewritten, and just like that, the first week of this year delivered a crash course in crisis management.

Yet, amid all this chaos was a subtle beauty and calmness that the snow brought with it.

The regular views from our windows transformed into something brand new. Even though we hadn’t moved, it felt like we were somewhere else.

Once the snow started melting, reality resurfaced. The same streets, buildings, barren trees, and the same lives waiting to be resumed.

That moment made me think of the term ‘whitewashing’ - how a pristine layer can temporarily hide what’s dull or broken. A layer of soft, beautiful snow hid a lot of uninspiring sights, just like ‘whitewashing’ often tries to cover up ugly or uncomfortable truths.

But like the snow melted, so do those fabrications, excuses, white lies - and what is left beneath the surface is just the plain and often painful truth.

In our lives, we often find ourselves in situations where things look attractive at first sight - but only with time do we realize that it was just a temporary illusion that we had fallen for.

The snow also reminded me of a deeper idea: dunya—the ‘worldly life’ as a mirage. A temporary place that dazzles and distracts us with both its chaos and its beauty, pulling our attention away from an uncomfortable certainty: that one day, we will lie beneath the very ground we now walk on with confidence and pride.

“Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children… And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion?” (Qur’an 57:20)

Personally, I think this chaos was just what I needed to give me a break from my routine, to offer me a different perspective, and to start seeing the same things in a new light.

I believe in beginning things with intention. I had been quietly pushing myself to start this year that way. The snow-covered city felt like a reminder that we don’t always need to move, change plans, or chase something new to experience transformation. Sometimes, we just have to stay still and let nature do its magic for us.

So I stayed in the moment, absorbing it all and witnessing my children making the most of the snow while it lasted, and patiently waiting for it all to melt away.

Thank you, 2026, for giving us a perfect start to the year - beauty, chaos, fun, and stress - all at the same time.

Isn’t that what life is all about?