~ Artwork by Jane Keay
The winter solstice time is no longer celebrated as it once was, with the understanding that this is a period of descent and rest, of going within our homes, within ourselves and taking in all that we have been through, all that has passed in this full year which is coming to a close. Like nature and the animal kingdom around us, this time of hibernation is so necessary for our tired limbs, our burdened minds.
Our modern culture teaches avoidance at a max at this time – alcohol, lights, shopping, overworking, overspending, comfort food and consumerism.
And yet the natural tug to go inwards as nearly all creatures are doing is strong, and the weather so bitter that people are left feeling that winter is hard, because for those of us without burning fires and big festive families, it can be lonely and isolating.
Whereas in actual fact, winter is kind; she points us in her quiet soft way towards our inner self, towards this annual time of peace and reflection, embracing the darkness and forgiving, accepting and loving, embracing goodbye to the past year.
“Winter takes away the distractions, the buzz, and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire and light to our hearth.”
. . . And then, just around the corner, the new year will begin again. And like a seed planted deep in the earth, we will all rise once again with renewed energy to dance in the sunlight.
Life is a gift.
Happy winter to you all.
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Time to Go Inwards
• Honoring the Inner Light of the Soul
• “Silent Night, Longest Night”
• Honoring the Darkness While Remembering the Light
• Beneath the Solstice Sun
• Brigit Anna McNeill on Hearing the Wild and Natural Call to Go Inwards
• Brigit Anna McNeill on “Winter’s Way”
• Brigit Anna McNeill on the Meaning of Winter Solstice Time
• Winter of Content
• A Skylight View
• Instant Winter
• December Vignettes (2024)
• December Vignettes (2023)
• In the Chill of Winter, A Prayer of Light and Love
• Winter Vignettes (2023)
• Solstice Storm (2022)
• Out and About – Winter 2022-2023
• Out and About – Winter 2020-2021
• Dark Light
• Wintering
• A Blizzard of Epic Proportions (2020)
• Winter . . . Within and Beyond (2020)
• Winter . . . Within and Beyond (2019)
• Winter . . . Within and Beyond (2017)
• Balancing the Fire
• Thomas Moore on the Circling of Nature as the Best Way to Find Our Substance
• A Prayer of Anchoring
• In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
• A Sacred Pause
• Aligning With the Living Light
• Mystical Participation
• Threshold Musings
• Stepping Out of Time and Resting Your Mind
• In the Stillness and Silence of This Present Moment
• The Beauty and Challenge of Being Present in the Moment
• Resting in the Presence of the Beloved
Image: Jane Keay.
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