My favourite day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere…Winter Solstice! I feel more connected to the winter solstice than even the Summer Solstice. Perhaps I resonate in a different way with what is happening this time of year. Solstice marks the beginning of the season. In winter it is the moment where we experience the darkest day and longest night. On this day, yin energy is at its highest point while yang is at its lowest. At 1211 today EST, the yang will start to climb and yin will start to decline creating a major shift in our energy and experiences here on earth. When yang is born we move in to a more active time. Yin energy, often thought of as feminine provides an opportunity for us to rest. It is a time of hibernation and introspection. It is a more passive time and despite the busyness we are pulled in to over this holiday season, this is more of a time for “me” and quiet introspection. It is not by accident that we celebrate Jesus’ birth and other religious celebrations during this reflective time.
I listen to people talk and vent their frustration this time of year and the majority of the time the complaint is that it is too busy and that they are missing this passive time that is pulling us. This is a time of rejuvenation as we begin to switch gears and we catch the yang wave pulling us in to a more active, doing stage in the year. The yang energy or masculine energy is at its peak on the Summer Solstice and then we experience the direct opposite with the lightest day and longest night.
As I’ve journeyed through life, I have experienced the cycles of life repeatedly, often being frustrated by them. There are parts I like and parts I don’t. What I have learned is that everything is a cycle and in constant motion. Everything changes and nothing stays the same. “This too will pass”, whether it be a great moment or a moment of despair, has been my favourite saying recently. Trying to hang on to something “really good” or desirable only interferes with the flow of the natural rhythm of my life. Alternately, resisting something I don’t like is equally troublesome in my life. I’ve had many highs and lows in my life. I would say that I’ve been fortunate to experience some of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and in this past year alone, I can think of many of them. I started this year, knowing I was turning 50, wanting to acknowledge 50 incredible and wonderful moments. I soon last track as I was suddenly aware that when I looked for it, there were at least that many in a single day. I just had to be present with my incredible friends and family and the people in my life to see that. When I started this year, I thought the wonderful moments would come through pleasure and they did but they were nothing like the wonder filled moments that were brought on by pain and despair. For in those dark moments, when I could finally stop resisting the pain and discomfort, I could actually see the impermanence of all. And in that, I wondered, what might be next…a truly “wonderful” moment. In that empty space, in that state of wonder, asking “what if?” my new dreams and desires were born!
I invite you to take advantage of this precious time of year, a time of darkness, a time of introspection, a time of birthing new action, a time for you. Perhaps you want to take some time today or over the next few days and sit quietly, meditate, or connect with nature and all that is. When we move in to the quiet, the darkness, the time alone, the thing we resist the most, we allow the space for wonder and new birth. It is in this moment that we can shift what we don’t want to have any longer in to a new desire. Let us not be afraid of the dark but use it wisely to allow our light to shine that much brighter in all that we do. My wish for you is that you will find peace in whatever you do and in that peace, you will experience the love and joy of your life and the lives of all those around you.
I am truly grateful for each of you journeying with me this past year and in the last 50. Today I celebrate each one of you as I find my centre and celebrate the darkness and all the wonder filled moments it brings.
Happy Solstice!
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