Pausing with the Winter Solstice
/Good things come from the dark…
a baby forming in the warm womb will be born to the delight of many
a bulb buried in the cold ground will rise and bloom
a dream emerging from the depths will enlighten and guide
With the longest night approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the beginning of the Winter season, taking time to pause with the Solstice can be a helpful ritual to bring presence to the cycles of our lives - the ones that feel bright, and the ones where darkness surrounds.
And, it’s come at the perfect time.
Tuning into the rhythms of nature is a much needed gift to our contemporary heart & mind. The bustle of the season, and the 24/7 modern conveniences make it almost impossible to notice what our species have cared deeply about for millennia.
You don’t need to be afraid of rituals that honour the natural world. You don’t need to see it as competing with your faith traditions, or intellectual prowess. You don’t need to hold it at a cerebral arms length as if it doesn’t have anything relevant or sacred to show you.
In fact, the moment we see how irrevocably connected we are to the natural world, healing will begin - for ourselves and for our planet.
The Winter Solstice teaches us that the dark is an unseen place for something new to be born. It’s a resting place to gather strength. It’s a quiet place to cultivate creativity. And yet we have a general aversion to what’s unseen, what slows us down to rest, and the quiet that’s required to experience deep sacred silence.
We have to practice these things - they don’t come naturally for us modern folk. Joining in a ritual is a way of practicing - a way to allow something from the ordinary, to reveal something extrodinary.
So, why not take time to pause…even if for a few minutes to reflect on the gifts of the dark, the natural ebb & flow of life, and the sliver of hope that is always within our grasp.
Ideas to Consider:
If celebrating the Winter Solstice is new to you, go ahead and do a simple google search to learn a bit more about it. This year (2022), the shortest day and longest night is on Wednesday, December 21.
Consider going for a walk for an hour where the sun sets roughly halfway through the hour. If you can safely walk in a quiet park or wooded area, all the better. For example, if the sun sets at 4:47pm, try to head out around 4:30pm and notice the following:
What do you see? Notice how quickly the light and shadows change. Consider the natural colour palette around you and how different it is to the other seasons. Notice the lights around you and how they illuminate the darkness. Any seasonal festive lights twinkling around you? How are they different then the big fluorescent street lights?
What do you hear? Are there any birds singing? Is it quiet? If you’re walking on snow, what does it sound like? How is this different from the same time of day at the Summer Solstice in June?
What do you smell? Can you describe what “cold” smells like? Do you smell any wood fires burning?
What do you feel? Notice the temperature. How does breathing in colder air feel? Find a pine tree and touch the needles, and place your hands on the trunk of a tree and notice the temperature.
If you can’t get out for a walk, can you find 10-15 minutes to sit and watch the sun set? Perhaps you can just sit in the dark before turning on your lights for the evening and consider how the dark is an important place to embrace.
Light a candle in a dark room, or add a string of twinkly lights to “decorate the dark”. If you’re curious to learn more about this idea of “decorating the dark”, I’d suggest this podcast.
Gather round a fire. Whether you light a fire outside, or in your hearth, being in the presence of fire on the solstice is a practice that has you joining the ancients! Consider writing down a few things that you want to “burn” or “purify” from this past year and for the year ahead.
Journal with these questions:
What has the dark times of your life birthed in you?
If going “dark” has some generative qualities, how can you embrace the darker emotions of grief instead of pushing them away? How can you stop producing in order to slow down, find quiet, and take a real rest even when it feels uncomfortable?
Our impulse is to always find the “light” ( the happy, convenient, easy, path of least resistance). How have you seen this to be true in your own life? What potential can be found when you turn away from those things and sit in the “dark” for a while longer? How might this actually lead to the light?
Consider all the light and dark you’ve experienced of the past twelve months. How might this natural ebb & flow encourage you today is this “pandemic darkness”?
Change is the most predictable thing there is. Daytime turns to night, and then night turns to day. What hope does this cosmic cycle bring to your very particular life today?
Order a book and consider reading it over these dark winter days. I’d suggest “Wintering” by Katharine May, or “Learning to Walk in the Dark” by Barbara Brown Taylor.
Consider writing a poem or prayer the express what the Winter Solstice might mean for you this year. Here’s one I wrote about several years ago. Enjoy!
D a r k e s t d a y .
W h e r e l i g h t i s i n s u c h s h o r t s u p p l y ,
a n d w a r m i n g g l o w f l i c k e r s a w a y ,
t h r e a t e n i n g t o a s h q u i e t o u r v e r y b r e a t h .
W e a c h e w i t h o u t w o r d s .
W e l o n g f o r w h a t w a s .
W h a t c o u l d b e .
W h a t w i l l b e .
I n t h e s i l e n c e , i n t i g h t n e s s o f c h e s t ,
I n t h e c o l d h o l l o w , w e s i t o n t h e s e a t o f d e s i r e .
F o r a n e w d a y .
A b r i g h t e r o n e , a n d w a r m e r .
O n e t h a t t a k e s t h i s s p i r a l o f f e a r a n d s a d n e s s a n d
r e s t l e s s n e s s .
A n d p u t s i t t o r e s t .
D a r k e s t d a y .
Y o u a r e b u t j u s t o n e .
Y o u a r e d a r k e s t , a n d t h e n y o u a r e n o t .
F o r d a y b r e a k s a n e w , a g a r n e t s l i v e r o n e a s t h o r i z o n
a m e s s e n g e r h e r a l d i n g l i g h t ,
w a r m t h ,
a s w e e t c h o r a l o f h o p e .
T h e r e i s n o p l a c e t h i s c a n o p y o f D a y d o e s n o t c o v e r .
N o c o r n e r t h a t r e m a i n s h i d d e n a n d b l a c k .
W h a t c o u l d b e i s h e r e .
W h a t w i l l b e h a s c o m e .
T h e L i g h t h a s a r r i v e d a n d i s w i t h u s .
