“The silent stirring of the new life in me,
Fills me with an inner strength.
The strength is good;
And it comes from a place
Deep inside my being.
This power I trust;
This is the power
Of love and compassion
The world cries out for.
The veil of illusion
Lifts slowly and reveals
The direction of my path.”
– from the Essene Book of Days
I always feel a need to be quiet this time of year. Yet there is usually a lot more activity than usual. How have we humans gotten so out of sync with the rhythms of the natural world?
I actually met a bright young woman on an airplane recently that told me she hates to be outside – ever. She lives and works in a large city and just goes from building to building. She said, “Trees and bugs just feel so unnatural.” Hmm… What could I say? I tried to think, “different strokes for different folks.”
I consider myself an open-minded person, yet at a very deep level I felt this woman was missing a vital part of life. If we are disconnected from the planet that gives us life, we may find it difficult to find deep nourishment and renewal in any sustainable way.
So what value does the natural world offer us at this time of year in the northern hemisphere?
Ancient people used this time of the longest night to focus on the positive power of darkness. There is a rich, unknown, fertile, deep part in each of us where we contact our intuition and creativity. Take a walk outside, even if it’s cold. Observe the trees, the animals, the waters. Yes it is a time for rest and deep renewal. Spring will give us the opportunity for new beginnings, will be ready to take full advantage of those opportunities?
Of course, these are simply platitudes unless we are willing and able to spend the time in self-examination. This is the true gift brought to us by the return of the Sun (Solstice) and the Son (Christmas). Your religious beliefs are not as important as how you perceive this Universal holiday time. Most people of the world celebrate this time of the year one way or another.
Even though winter solstice is a return of the light, it is a slow return. This year the full lunar eclipse reminds us how quickly the light comes and goes. It’s what is calling us from deep within that counts, no?
I have read that this full moon will be super-charged with it being on the Winter Solstice and a full lunar eclipse. We’ll soon find out! (I’m already feeling a little strange…)
Lunar eclipses are about relationships, as I understand it. So what isn’t about relationships? Relationships with ourselves, with God/Universe/Divine Essence, with the natural world, with one another. Relationships between cultures, countries, and diverse groups. We resonate or we do not resonate with another. But do we need to fight?
I say to me and you: cultivate inner peace (so you can project it outward as well), then wake up, step into the flow with an open heart, and dance!
It is a time for quiet and
a time to celebrate. We can do them both consciously.
“There is a force in me,
Pushing, pushing,
Beginning it’s outbreath
After a long sleep.
Sacred darkness slowly yields
To newborn light.
As I move outward
From the stillpoint of outer death
To share my new-found breath of life
With all,
I shall never forget
The inbreath of the Mother
That nurtured me
Through the winter’s night.”
– from the Essene Book of Days
May your holidays be filled with love, laughter and renewal,
Carolyn
photos by and of carolyn ringo
Lunar Eclipse tonight! – From beginning to end, the eclipse will last about three hours and twenty-eight minutes. For observers on the east coast of the U.S. the eclipse lasts from 1:33am EST through 5:01 a.m. EST. Viewers on the west coast will be able to tune in a bit earlier. For them the eclipse begins at 10:33 p.m. PST on December 20 and lasts until 2:01am PST on Dec. 21. Totality, the time when Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon, will last a lengthy 72 minutes.
Full Moon at 12:30 am; Winter Solstice/Longest night of the year.
