I am smitten with the winter solstice: that underdog
holy day which gets so little attention.
The longest night of the year indicates the turning
point toward the return of the light; my heart summons me to my own inner night.
I am grateful for this time to reflect, to ponder, to partner with the darkness on
this sacred evening. In so doing, I become a bringer of the light, finding the
gems that shine within my belly (something my yoga instructor says with
flourish and eloquence) and bringing them forth into the world.
Each of us can do this: honoring the darkness,
celebrating the eventual coming of the light … as we sit in the calm center of
who we are!
To sit knitting, warping and weaving on my loom,
becoming mesmerized by the flames on the burning candles around me, making
collage, reading, meditating or writing, walking on the darkened beach at low
tide … ah!; these, for me, are the bliss and gifts of wintertime! No matter how
chilled I get in the wind, rain, and near-freezing temperatures on hikes and
walks, nature restores me on the inside, and I know I can cozy up, hibernate, a
while in my home, finding the warm center that also lives in that wintertime
darkness.
As I get to know and inhabit the darkness, I also come
to know and cherish the light; we need both to be whole.
I relish the longest night of the year!
Winter Solstice 2017 is on the 21st of December … May you find
and inhabit your peaceful inner place, shine your light in the outer places,
and remember that we all need one another’s gifts of spirit!
(a
version of this was posted in 2011)
All blog images created & photographed by Jennifer J. Wilhoit unless otherwise noted. Please circulate images with photo credit: "©2017 JenniferJWilhoit/TEALarbor stories. AllRightsReserved."