The winter solstice time is no longer celebrated as it once was, with the understanding that this is a period of descent and rest, of going within our homes, within ourselves and taking in all that we have been through, all that has passed in this full year which is coming to a close... like nature and the animal kingdom around us, this time of hibernation is so necessary for our tired limbs, our burdened minds.
Our modern culture teaches avoidance at a max at this time; alcohol, lights, shopping, overworking, overspending, comfort food and consumerism.
And yet the natural tug to go inwards as nearly all creatures are doing is strong and the weather so bitter that people are left feeling that winter is hard, because for those of us without burning fires and big festive families, it can be lonely and isolating.
Whereas in actual fact winter is kind, she points us in her quiet soft way towards our inner self, towards this annual time of peace and reflection, embracing the darkness and forgiving, accepting and loving, embracing goodbye to the past year.
"Winter takes away the distractions, the buzz, and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire & light to our hearth".
.. and then, just around the corner the new year will begin again, and like a seed planted deep in the earth, we will all rise with renewed energy once again to dance in the sunlight.
Life is a gift 
a Happy winter to you all...
a Happy winter to you all...~ Bridget Anna McNeil
Winter Solstice
Here, stories thicken. The ground holds its breath and listens. Frost sketches its temporary prayers along the edges of leaves and windows, and the stars feel nearer, as though they have leaned closer just to hear us breathe.
This winter night is not the absence of life but its inward gathering. Sap is held deep in root and heartwood, the sweetness of the year kept safe against the cold. Seeds lie in the dark, dense with memory and potential, carrying whole landscapes within them. Beneath the soil, unseen lives continue their quiet tending, keeping the future warm in the deepest dark.
So too in us. Our bodies remember this season, even when our minds forget. In the long night, blood and bone draw inward, breath thickens, marrow listens, and something in us trusts that not all growth needs light to begin.
The sun will turn because it always has. The light will return slowly, faithfully, by small degrees that ask for patience rather than force.
May this solstice meet you gently, reminding you that even in the deepest dark, the earth continues its quiet work.
The future is already breathing.
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WORDS Brigit Anna McNeill
ART Tijana Lukovic
1 comment:
I do not enjoy the short days as much as the shorter days! That said, I do not want to sound as though I am complaining. I have been blessed with gifts of great health and a longer life than many of my family and friends. There are two funerals tomorrow! So, I will celebrate that starting tomorrow each day gets a little longer. Our beautiful Northern Hemisphere is resting a bit for its glorious spring and summer. I will choose to look at each day as its own gift! Thank you for your wonderful post!
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