Embracing the Light and Darkness of the Winter Solstice
Today marks the Winter Solstice—the day with the smallest amount of daylight in the year. While the darkness feels all-encompassing, I find solace in knowing that after tonight, the days will grow longer, minute by precious minute. It’s a quiet celebration of light, a gradual shift toward brightness that stirs something deep within me. A little fist pump or doing a happy dance helps with my celebrating.
Those last glimmers of daylight slipping into the ink-black night are humbling, almost poetic. There’s something about the stillness of dark afternoons that wraps around me like a heavy quilt, inviting drowsiness long before bedtime. Do these early evenings—dark by 5:00 PM (even earlier)—affect you similarly? They seem to nudge us toward introspection, a natural slowing down, and I know full well that I need some slowing down for sure!
Over the past decade, I’ve become attuned to this shift, noticing with reverence how the light ever so slightly lengthens the day after December 21. It’s not just the act of seeing but the sensation of feeling the change. By January, the difference becomes undeniable to most. For those of us who look for it, that extra minute of daylight is a quiet triumph, a tangible promise of brighter days ahead.
If we pause for a second, we can find a profound lesson in this seasonal dance of light and dark. The darkness, while enveloping, is fleeting. It reminds us to reflect and rest before the rush of spring’s renewal. And the returning light? That’s hope—gentle, yearning, and undeniable.
So, cheers to celebrating the light today and every day!
Terri
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