A time of renewal – Winter Solstice:

For many people winter can be a difficult time of depression. Short days, long nights and the most darkness of the year signify the start of a new season – winter solstice. It can often feel like the darkness (physically, mentally and emotionally) is taking over. 

What is winter solstice? Winter solstice is typically identified as the shortest day of the year. While that’s not incorrect it’s also just the beginning. On the day that is deemed “winter solstice” the Northern Hemisphere portion of the earth is tilted away from the sun resulting in less sunlight. Up until this moment, as the Earth continues its path around the sun, the days have been getting shorter and shorter as more darkness takes over. However, the winter solstice actually marks the end of a phase, the days begin to get longer, the darkness is eventually overcome and the “sun is reborn”.  Many cultures celebrate this day as a “rebirth” of the sun. The word solstice is derived from 2 latin words: “sol” which means sun and “sistere” which means to stand still. 

2020 in particular has been very difficult for many and I’ve noticed a lot of hype around the New Year and the coming of 2021. But why wait? I won’t deny the significance of the turning of a New Year, but I also cannot deny the beauty of the winter solstice. As the ending of a chapter and the beginning of a new one, why shouldn’t we also celebrate our own renewal? I’ve personally been grieving the loss of societal dignity, empathy, and simple love for one another. This year has brought too many moments of heartache, pain and confusion. What I’ve learned and hope that others can eventually see is that we all walk a different path and no matter how closely we may relate to another’s experiences, we can NEVER know exactly what each other goes through. Your experiences and your life are unique. I believe that is the way God intended and created it to be. But what we must realize is that we are ALL unique and should respect each other’s views, values, priorities and beliefs even if they are different from our own. If we want to make this world a better place we have to start by looking in the mirror. TODAY is day one; the first day after Winter Solstice. Choose today. Choose now to simply “stand still”, reflect inward on your own sentiments, meditate on the good that’s still here and if you can’t find any good in your world then be the good. Together, let’s renew our minds and hearts. Stop the judging, do what’s best for you and those you care for and if someone else chooses to do the same but the outcome is different than yours then respect that. Live simply and strive for peace. One other thing I feel like some people need to here: don’t suppress your emotions and have confidence in the decisions you’ve made. What is your first step to renewal? Let’s start celebrating and stop mourning. 

There is a winter in all of our lives, a chill and darkness that makes us yearn for days that have gone or put our hope in days yet to be.

Father God, you created seasons for a purpose. Spring is full of expectation buds breaking

Frosts abating and an awakening of creation before the first days of summer.

Now the sun gives warmth and comfort to our lives 

Reviving aching joints

Bringing colour, new life and crops to fruting.

Autumn gives nature space to lean back, relax and enjoy the fruits of its labour

Mellow colours in sky and landscape

As the earth prepares to rest.

Then winter, cold and bare as nature takes stock 

Rests, unwinds, sleeps until the time is right.

An endless cycle and yet a perfect model. We need a winter in our lives. A time of rest, a time to stand still. A time to reacquaint ourselves with the faith in which we live and breathe. It is only then that we can draw strength from the one in whom we are rooted, take time to grow and rise through the darkness into the warm glow of your springtime, to blossom and flourish, bring colour and vitality into this world, your garden.

-John Birch

Blessing for the Longest Night:

All throughout these months as the shadows have lengthened, this blessing has been gathering itself, making ready, preparing for this night.

It has practiced walking in the dark, traveling with its eyes closed, feeling its way by memory by touch by the pull of the moon even as it wanes.

So believe me when I tell you this blessing will reach you even if you have not light enough to read it; it will find you even though you cannot see it coming.

You will know the moment of its arriving by your release of the breath you have held so long; loosening of the clenching in your hands, of the clutch around your heart; a thinning of the darkness that had drawn itself around you.

This blessing does not mean to take the night away but it knows its hidden roads, knows the resting spots along the path, knows what it means to travel in the company of a friend.

So when this blessing comes, take its hand. Get up. Set out on the road you cannot see. 

This is the night when you can trust that any direction you go, you will be walking towards the dawn.

-Jan Richardson