cmaxwell

Solstice thoughts:

Banish the gloom. Do not despair. The darkness is starting to recede, as of today. The light is coming back.

Ignore the tinsel, the Santa, the mall, the hypocritical combination of mawkish sentimentalism and merciless materialism.

This is the holiday of light--an ancient pagan festival far antedating Christendom and its rulers' savvy ploy in moving Jesus's birth from spring (shepherds do not watch their flocks by night in the winter) to a few days after the solstice.

You can call it the Return of the King if you like--but all the "happy holidays" (ugh) are really about the return of the Light.

And they celebrate the banishment of darkness and this radical kind of faith: faith in life, trust in the moment, celebration of the present, and hope for the days to come.

The Sun has not abandoned us. Believe also in the Son if you want, but don't forget the source, the light that gives us all our energy and life.

That light has not abandoned us--and we should not give in to despair.

Many people are suffering and grieving at this time--some of them I know very personally. They know and can taste despair--we all can. But how can doubt stand up to the light?

It's back. The days are henceforth getting longer. Soak them up.

And stop complaining about winter, and the weather, and the inconveniences nature causes.

Nature rules. Fight it if you want to be foolish, embrace it if you want to have a chance to be at peace.