Dear Reader,
The longest night of the year is upon us, but from here on, the light returns, a little more each day. May you rest in the darkness, dear reader, and feel your fullness in the light.
I am drawn to these transition days of the summer and winter solstice; I have written other posts about them and you can use the search function on the blog to find them if you’d like. There is something about the inevitability, the precision, the bigness of the sun and earth doing their dance and hitting their balance point on these days, that I love.
The solstice officially arrived this morning at 5:44 AM Eastern Standard time. I was already up. I turned off the lights, pulled open the curtains covering our big picture windows and looked out upon a bright half-moon, kept company by Jupiter; gleaming snow on the surface of the lake, and dark trees throwing shadows on the shore. Imagine, shadows in the dark!
Over the past month, I have been watching the progress of the sun as it sets each day, inching further along the far shore as far as an opening between two tall stands of evergreen trees. Today, it will begin inching its way back as it sets, along the mountain ridge I see from my window, until by summer solstice it will be setting far out of sight.
Do we ever need anything more breathtaking than nature in our lives, to help us appreciate the bigness of life and, as small as we may feel sometimes, the vastness of our presence here as part of it all?
Today, I embrace the darkness, and the shadows within the darkness, and am made the richer for it. I also turn my face to the daylight, reminded of who I am.
Enjoy this solstice however you choose, dear reader, but do enjoy it, with both your darkness and your light.
I honor your loving heart,
John
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