Welcome to the time of year when it’s still dark when we leave the house for work, and is already dark when we leave the office at the end of the work day!
Yes, that’s right WINTER — that time of year when my body is possessed by my primitive mammalian ancestor who just wants to curl up in a warm, soft, dark burrow and sleep. And that time of year when it seems our society has collectively decided we need to rush, rush, rush and spend, spend, spend and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!
Over the years I’ve been listening to my body more and more during this season. Slowing down, sleeping more, finding ways to be comfortable. Sometimes that means not going to the party and not putting pressure on myself to find the perfect gifts for friends and family. Sometimes that means staying home in my PJs and baking — but only if I want to and never if it stresses me out.
The Winter Solstice is a time when darkness and light, of solitude and community, of reflecting on the old year and making plans for the new hang in a delicate balance. I believe more and more that all the things society says we should be doing this time of year are actually meant to distract us from going within, being quiet, and allowing ourselves times to rest and reflect.
When we can slow down, rest, and reflect, we begin to be able to take back our energy, feel our emotions, and just BE who we are. We can begin to disentangle our identities from the things we have to do to survive in this sexist, racist, monotheistic, capitalist society. We can begin to see WHO WE ARE outside of what we have to do just to live. We can breathe.
I want to share with you the work of two women who are championing the sacred work of resting and wintering: Tricia Hersey of The Nap Ministry and Katherine May of The Clearing. Please go and check out their work. I love how Hersey reframes rest as a liberatory and revolutionary practice and how May encourages us to pay attention to the quality of the light in the darkness of winter. Both women, from very different perspectives, give us tools to recover this season for ourselves.
After we pass the longest night of the year (December 21 this year, when the Sun begins to slowly — ever so slowly — to increase in strength (at least from our view point in the Northern Hemisphere of Earth), we begin to look forward to the new year and the next growing cycle. The time between the Solstice and the New Year is a great time to use this season’s inclination to “go within” to incubate and nurture dreams for the future.
What is growing inside you? What do you want to birth in the coming year? Don’t worry at this time about HOW you could do it or WHETHER you can do it. Let this time be about potential and possibility — give your dreams free rein to stretch and take root inside your deepest self.
Not all seeds will grow to fruition, but you can be certain that those seeds you don’t even plant won’t.
I created another seasonal playlist for Yule/Winter Solstice. You can check it out on Apple Music.
While the Mari Lwyd of Wales is not one of my traditions, I am totally getting a kick out of this video by Miss O’Hare.
What are your experiences and traditions around this time of year? I’d love to hear how folks celebrate and reflect during this season.
May the sun within
light your way
through winter’s night