Winter Solstice 2019

 

 

I love the Winter Holidays!

It is the time of the Season of Lights.  Many traditions have their holidays at this time of year – and they all include Lights. This makes perfect sense, as it is the darkest time of the year in the northern hemisphere and lights mitigate the darkness and are quite beautiful.  Whether it’s the Yule log, Chanukah candles, Christmas lights,  or the candles of Kwanzaa lit with meaning – bringing light to the darkest time of the year is lovely and warming and just feels good.

Myself, I love the Winter Solstice.  The longest night of the year.  I like to sit in the dark with friends on this longest night.  We gather before dusk and sit in a circle, each of us with an unlit candle in front of us.  We go around the circle and talk about our dark times and what we have learned from them.  Only after we’ve honored the darkness do we each light our candle and talk of what light – what newness – we want to bring into our lives.

It seems we learn and grow the most when there are challenges in our lives, yet we don’t often honor the darkness.  We mostly avoid it, or can’t wait till it’s over. 

But there’s something about pausing…                                                                                                                              and honoring the darkness. Our world needs darkness.  Our planet would not survive if the sun were out 24 hours a day.  And we humans need our darkness, too.  Out of the darkness comes stillness… and wisdom. 

The best we can do when life is difficult is to learn and grow from what has occurred.  Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that our suffering can lead us towards compassion.  He says that when we allow our hearts to expand as a result of what’s occurred in our lives, we have a lot of understanding  and compassion – first for ourselves – and then for others who we encounter who are dealing with similar circumstances. Conversely, if we allow what difficulties life brings us to close our hearts, then we have not learned – we have only closed down.

And God knows we need open hearts in our world, and to understand and be compassionate with our fellow human beings! Indeed, it is our only hope!

And so I suggest that you honor this winter season of darkness and see how you can use it to grow your compassion and your open-heartedness.  And also honor the Light that  begins to grow after the Winter Solstice passes.  And don’t forget to honor the Light that you are!  Andrew Harvey (a writer, mystic and spiritual activist) says… “The light has taken form, and it’s All of Us.”  That has become my favorite definition of God. 

I honor the Light in you, and in All of Us!

Blessings of the Season to you!