Cultivating Wonder at Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice Arrives

 

 

New day – Returning light – Illumination – Winter Solstice represents all of these concepts. The earth reaches the farthest point in its journey around the sun. And because the northern hemisphere tilts away from the sun, our days have been getting shorter and shorter. All of that changes tonight as we begin to tilt back toward the sun.

For gardeners, solstice marks the season of seed catalogs arriving in the mail. If you don’t know the delight of curling up with a seed catalog, perusing the new entries, sipping hot chocolate, and watching the snow fall outside – well where have you been? (Here are two seed catalogs to get you started, Seed Savers Exchange & Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) And what are seed catalogs and gardens, but reminders of hopefulness and wonder? We are planning for a new day and new beginnings.

Cultivating Wonder

It always feels important to stop and honor the winter solstice – recognizing the rhythm of our planet’s journey around the sun, and a return of the light. And this year it feels even more significant. We’ve had ten months of pandemic-time, with losses and challenges and sometimes a feeling of no end in sight. I imagine it was a feeling early humans might have experienced as the sun seemed to be slowly disappearing each day leading up to solstice. And then magically, the light began to increase.

We have an added gift this year with the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. If you’ve missed all the news, the two planets will be so close that they appear as one bright shining star. The last time this occurred was in 1623. Many people will be heading outside tonight to look up at this celestial event.

The funny thing is that the night sky and the world we live in are pretty amazing even without a conjunction of planets. Enjoy the “shining star” tonight, but know that we could dedicate ourselves to cultivating wonder on a daily basis by simply paying attention.

A Short List of Wonderous Things on my Mind Today

Through the grace of other seed savers, I can now plant heirloom beans that are very close to the ones my grandfather brought with him from Italy. My grandfather’s were lost along the way when no one thought to save them. But our interconnected world has made it possible for me to find others with seeds stretching back to Italy.

And the fact that I can plant seeds, any seed at all, that goes on to produce beauty and edible plants is arlways a source of wonder.

Here is a fun one. In 1623, the last year the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn were this close, a first collection of thirty-six Shakespeare plays were published in London. Do you think Shakespeare had any idea of how long his works would endure?

Also in 1623, a small music company opened its doors in Constantinople, making cymbals and mallets for drums. The Zildjian company has operated continuously since then, gifting the world with music, and is now based in Norwell, Massachusetts. What would the founders have thought to imagine their company stretching out into the future this far?

And this one – there are millions of stars in the universe and as many conceivable planets. We know life might be possible elsewhere, but we’ve not found it yet. Just being alive on this planet is a wonderous thing.

Bright Blessings on Solstice

So go outside tonight. Look up. Contemplate the wonder of the night sky, with or without a conjunction of planets. And know that at 3:20 AM Mountain Time tonight, our home planet begins its journey back toward the sun. Cultivate wonder and envision a global illumination of joy and compassion. Bright Blessings on Solstice.