Go into the dark, have faith in the light

The winter solstice. One of my favorite days of the year, the shortest day, the longest night, where I anticipate the return of early sunrises and late sunsets. These dark nights and even darker mornings enhance my already champion-like sleep tendencies, encouraging me to slow down, sleep, rest, recharge and reflect. It asks me to go to those dark places in my soul, with faith that the light will come. The dark challenges me to let go, to trust, to love, to reach out, to release, to anticipate new life, new beginnings.

The gift, the gift of light, of spring, of whatever Persephone decides to bring. This advent season when so many men and women around the world celebrate the coming of Christ, I look for the gift of light from this dark place of the longest day. I look for that place where I can trust and abandon my cares, my worries, my useless anxieties, where I learn whatever tricks I need to make my way to the light, even in the darkest days.