Today marks the Winter Solstice, and from this day forward the days get longer and lighter until summer arrives. While the first day of winter may not feel like cause for celebration, that fact alone makes this day one of hope and majesty. It begins here – and if winter never started it would never finish.
Last winter passed in peaceful form thanks to a newly-found focus on hygge, and the continuing quest for meditative peace and calm. Through the process comes the result, and to trust in that journey is to be made happy in the moment – even if the moment comes on the first day of winter, with all the days yet to follow.
There is magic to the winter as well, something I ignored and dismissed for most of my life, so chagrined with the weather and darkness that I failed to see all the lights that we make at this time of the year. Candles and lamps and fairy lights all conspire to lift the darkness, even at its heaviest and most impenetrable. The glow of a single candle is enough to fell a roomful of shadow. And when taken outside into a night filled with snow, it can feel like one is carrying a small sun in their hand.
On this day, we make our winter wishes – writing them down and signaling to the universe our intents and hopes, before burning them and letting them drift into the sky to be carried off to where they might begin their work. It is our seasonal tradition, one taught to me by Andy when we first met, and the winter wishes were always some of the most important ones made. Especially this year, when we need all the help we can get.
The shortest day of light is here, and moving forward each day from this point the light will last a little longer. Winter has just begun, but this is a journey that has been in motion since the arrival of fall. Rounding that corner brings us further along than we realize, and seasons move so quickly these days it’s only a matter of moments before talk of spring is in the air.
