Winter solstice reflections

Winter Solstice Reflections

As the blanket of winter covers us is in the Northern Hemisphere, I was called to share two pieces of writing that recently arrived in my life. May you find peace this season, greet the darkness, and honor the mystery of life and death. ​

---

Winter's Cloak
By: Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr

This year I do not want
the dark to leave me.
I need its wrap
of silent stillness,
its cloak
of long lasting embrace.
Too much light
has pulled me away
from the chamber
of gestation.
Let the dawns
come late,
let the sunsets
arrive early,
let the evenings
extend themselves
while I lean into
the abyss of my being.
Let me lie in the cave
of my soul,
for too much light
blinds me,
steals the source
of revelation.
Let me seek solace
in the empty places
of winter's passage,
those vast dark nights
that never fail to shelter me.

---

A Celebration of Winter Solstice 
By: Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr

There is a tendency to want to hurry from autumn to spring, to avoid the long dark days that winter brings. Many people do not like constant days bereft of light and months filled with colder temperatures. They struggle with the bleakness of land and the emptiness of trees. Their eyes and hearts seek color. Their spirits tire of tasting the endless gray skies. There is great rejoicing in the thought that light and warmth will soon be filling more and more of each new day.
But winter darkness has a positive side to it. As we gather to celebrate the first turn from winter to spring, we are invited to recognize and honor the beauty in the often unwanted season of winter. Let us invite our hearts to be glad for the courage winter proclaims. Let us be grateful for the wisdom winter brings in teaching us about the need for withdrawal as an essential part of renewal. Let us also encourage our spirits as Earth prepares to come forth from this time of withdrawal into a season filled with light.
The winter solstice celebrates the return of hope to our land as our planet experiences the first slow turn toward greater daylight. Soon we will welcome the return of the sun and the coming of springtime. As we do so, let us remember and embrace the positive, enriching aspects of winter's darkness.

---

As we embrace the shifts from light to dark and steep in a period of hibernation, I invite you to explore the programs offered through the Olympic Mountain EarthWisdom Circle (OMEC). Each of these programs support us in building a sacred and responsible relationship with the Earth, opening us to the ever-changing rhythms around and within us.   ​​

From my heart to yours, Crystal Hawks