Winter Solstice

I asked Diana in northern Virginia to share some thoughts on Winter Solstice with us, and she kindly (and promptly, given the short notice!) sent me the following.

In the western hemisphere winter solstice marks the beginning of the winter season. Even in our busy lives, distant as we now are from the rhythm of the natural world, we acknowledge the shortest day of the year as a turning point. "Good," we say to ourselves, "from now on the days will get longer and longer; in a couple of months we'll be driving home from work in daylight."

To most of us, ruled by the demands of the modern workplace, winter is simply a nuisance to be endured: snowy streets, muddy gardens, the need for boots and scarves and gloves, heating costs that dent bank accounts, coughs and sniffles and other assorted miseries. But there was a time when winter solstice heralded a season of introspection and quiet enjoyment.

When the earth sleeps under a blanket of snow the human mind can take pleasure in winter stillness. To contemplate a winter sunset--to look at the black silhouettes of trees against a red-streaked sky--is to appreciate their essence without the distraction of spring and summer's green finery. In winter, trees reveal their secrets: birds' nests, squirrels' nests, scars, and fissures. We see their true nature.

In some Pagan traditions the winter solstice marked the division between the old year and the new. It was a time to bid farewell to old regrets, bad habits, discarded plans, and welcome a season of new possibilities.

Our short winter days are filled with work, errands, and distractions, but the long winter nights give us time to gaze into the flames of our own hearths; to dream, perhaps, at our desks or even at the kitchen table, of plans for the coming year. We examine our hearts and souls and resolve to continue on a given path or to do things differently. We have, at long last, time to simply *be*.

One could say the Winter Solstice is a seasonal marker for all of us, whatever our traditions or beliefs. It is our time to step back, draw a deep breath, and catch up with ourselves.

The End

D.M. Read
Author of Layoffs

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