2020 winter solstice

Though I am not a fan of the commercialism of this season, I have always enjoyed the winter solstice and the winter holidays in general! They are a bright spot during the long, cold darkness of this part of the year. It is a time of rest, intention, and drawing yourself closer to your loved ones. 

The challenge of this year, of course, is that many of us are not able to be near our loved ones. But perhaps there are greater things that are coming to the surface now as well. Not only are we navigating how to be apart from those we care about, the strain of the pandemic has also brought greater attention to our relationships in general: those to ourselves, our families, friends, jobs, lovers, money, everything that we know and hold dear has come into question in some way. We are in a moment of crisis. All of us are grieving some loss, big or small, this year. And yet from loss, comes change. From loss, comes renewal. From loss, comes an opportunity to plant new seeds as well. How can we use this time to consider the potential of crisis, the gifts of such times? The gold hidden through the darkness of this long hibernation, all while nurturing our tenderness and grief?

We acknowledge the things that we have lost. We acknowledge that those things may never return to us, not in the same way at least. And we await the day when we are faced with. And when faced with their memory, we choose to honor it by showing up as our highest selves, with the knowledge and action that we gained by trusting our paths enough to say goodbye.

Nurture yourselves through this long night. Nurture yourselves through this great unknown. The “future" is uncertain because we await you to create it. The opportunity and time is now.