How are you as you start this new week? December 21st marks the solstice… the shortest day, the longest night. Yet that’s not the literal definition of “solstice”.
According to Wikipedia, “The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”), because at the solstices, the Sun’s declination appears to “stand still”; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun’s daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.”
As I look at the sunrise from my bedroom window each morning the sun moves each day. Since summer it has been moving slowly but inexorably westwards. Today, tomorrow it stands still. And then it will slowly surely move to the east.
This photo, not taken from my bedroom window, shows the effect beautifully.Sun month by month
Yet right now, this moment in time is not one I’d like to last forever. With Covid-19 having such a devastating effect on so many lives, I long to move on.
So, what thoughts can I offer you?
An ancient Persian King once asked his wise men for something that could always be in view and appropriate for all times. The advice they offered him was the sentence “And this too shall pass”.
And maybe that is a wise message for these times. Even when things seem at their darkest, when it feels like “normal” has gone forever, this too will pass, the sun will continue it’s journey and tomorrow will be a new day.
As you contemplate the new phase that solstice brings, what is it that you hope for in the next phase?
Let me know your thoughts.
Happy solstice time!
Margaret