Solstice Blessings to you!
If you're in the northern hemisphere like I am, today marks the Winter Solstice. (For anyone in the southern hemisphere, a joyous Summer Solstice to you!)
This day marks the point in time when it is the darkest...and if you're in the half of the world I'm in, today we honor the moment in time when the light will, once again, begin to slowly grow.
With that, I had a new realization this year when I began preparing for the Solstice that I wanted to share today.
This moment, though it brings in the start of winter and is often simply referenced as the shortest day of the year, is actually also the moment when the sun will once again begin to shine a little more each day.
This day that is in many ways the darkest, also brings with it the birth of the new light.
And in this moment, in the stillness and quiet calm, we might feel in our bodies what it is to hold these two realities simultaneously.
The gifts of the darkness. The warmth of the light. The blessings of them both.
It's almost as though, for a moment, our breath catches.
We pause.
We are fully present with the shifting of the cosmos.
And we exhale, welcoming in the celebration of newness, as our bodies also remember that we have been here before.
The Winter Solstice is perhaps one of my favorite "both/ands" that the wheel of the year offers us.
And, as it is deeply connected with nature's ancient cycles (rather than a human-constructed calendar), this day (similar to how many of us think of New Year's Eve) can be considered the time when we think about what we are ready to leave behind in the current year, and what we are welcoming in with the new one.
And so today, I encourage you to take a few moments for yourself, in whatever ways resonate.
Consider what all you've been through in 2022.
Honor everything that the 2022 version of you has seen, felt, experienced, learned.
Take note of what all you want to keep and bring with you in 2023, and what you are ready to release and leave behind.
And also, what new things might you be seeding for 2023?
What do you want to feel, to do, to be?
Honor those intentions. Validate them, celebrate them, choose them with all your heart.
Light a candle. Meditate. Be in the quiet darkness while carrying with you the joyful light.
Honor your body, their messages, the partnership you're building with them.
Spend time outside. Remember your intimate partnership with the nature outside of you, and how it reflects the nature within.
Celebrate the relationships that nurture. Release the need to keep carrying whatever pieces of your relationships no longer feel supportive.
Allow yourself to be.
And remember that the wheel will keep on turning.
Every day, every moment, is a chance to embody the fullness of you. This may look different at different times of year, month, or day.
Embrace all that you are. All that you were. And all that you will continue becoming.
A blessed Solstice to you, you incredible human.
Solstice blessings to you!