Early this morning I was out in the cold and dark for a winter solstice sunrise walk at the Plains Conservation Center. A small band of us watched as the sun came up over the plains and illuminated the mountains to the west with a pink glow. It was the beginning of the shortest day of the year. My friend Jenny and I captured a photo of our long shadows (above) moments after the sun rose.
Winter solstice is the turning point for us northern hemisphere entities. The earth has reached its farthest tilt away from the sun. Tomorrow we are on our journey back. The days will start to get longer, and the sun will be higher in the sky.
Winter Solstice is always a relief. I don’t particularly like winter even though I understand its function. Many plants in northern climates need a period of cold. Most apple varieties, for example, need a certain number of chilly days in order to thrive. Winter can also be a time of rest and renewal. One could make the case that cold makes us hardier or provides opportunities for growth as it does for plants.
It’s just my preference to not be cold. But I also realize it doesn’t matter what I want. I can try to argue with winter. I can barter and bargain and yet here it is, shorter days, frigid temperatures, and sometimes snow.
If I step back from my own preferences just a little, I can appreciate the rhythm of light and dark, warmth and cold, and the earth tilting first one way and then another. I can choose to cultivate not just acceptance, but wonder about this process.
It is easy in our world of electric lights to be out of touch with the seasons and the changes on our planet, yet this remarkable journey the earth makes around the sun keeps us alive. Just stopping for a moment to embrace that fact makes me much more accepting of the cold.
So Happy Solstice! Stop for a moment today to appreciate the world we are part of. Go outside and look up at the sky. Light a candle. Celebrate with friends. Envision light returning in all its various forms.
Wishing you more warmth, more hope, and more light in your world!
Thinking of you this Solstice night. We’ll be feeling your energy and presence throughout, and of course when we read the Hundredth Monkey! Blessed Solstice, my friend.
Shari,
Pin a wish for clarity onto the yule log for me. 🙂 Miss you all! Bright blessings!
I enjoyed this. I wish I’d known you were going to Plains Center, as not too far from me. I wish I had checked out their winter solstice plans. I did get outside a lot today as almost summer like, and I have all the lights I can muster on tonight. I walked Scout in the neighborhood too at dark to see the holiday lights – soaking in the many ways we create light. I am happy we have reached this day, but less unhappy with winter this year than in the past. I look forward to connecting sometime over the holiday, and wish you a light-filled year ahead.
Debbie,
Jenny found the event and was driving and I wasn’t clear where we were going except east! It was beautiful out today! Happy Solstice and looking forward to seeing you soon.