“It is the secret
of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from
sight and afterwards, return again.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sometimes described as “the most wonderful time of the year,” December has its own special magic. While some religions celebrate miracles occurring at this time, the Winter Solstice, a scientific event, brings miracles and magic as well.
In an endless cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth, the Winter Solstice marks the beginning of rebirth. The darkness stops growing. The Sun symbolically “dies” and is “reborn”; one solar cycle—year—ends, and a new one starts.
Life that appears dead is merely dormant. In a few months, the growing light will penetrate the frozen Earth, enabling the resting seeds to germinate and begin a new cycle.
Winter Solstice is one of my most favorite times of year. It is a time of celebration and joy, but it is also a time when we slow down and think about the deeper things that connect all people and all life on this planet. In the darkest, coldest time, we come together to make our own warmth and our own light.
None of us can make it through this most difficult season alone. Kindness, love, and empathy are things we all need to survive the season. We donate coats, gloves, toys, and food so others will be warm, entertained, and well-fed.
The Winter Solstice reminds us that we are all vulnerable. We may believe differently, have differing political views, but we all need each other. Money and social status won’t keep us warm if we’re stranded outside in freezing temperatures or a blizzard.
Giving and receiving empathy enables us to survive the cold and dark together with joy and hope.
For many, 2024 has been a difficult year. At times, it can take effort to find reason to hope. It can feel like for every step forward, we take two steps back. Those of us fighting for Pluto, dwarf planets, and a better planet definition have now been at it for more than 18 years.
When we support one another and give comfort to one another, we transform a season of cold and dark to one of warmth and light. When we recognize that the darkness is a time not of death but of dormancy in preparation for new life, we realize that hope is the way of the world. Nothing stays dead forever. As Emerson notes above, all living things retreat from our view, from our awareness, for a while, but in one form or another, they always return, just as new sprouts, new leaves, new greenery, and new growth emerge in the spring.
In this difficult time, let us be one another’s light and warmth, with the knowledge that rebirth follows death, and life will always return.
I wish everyone a beautiful season and a Happy, Healthy, Hopeful 2025.
“Out of darkness comes the dawning,
Out of winter comes the spring!
We sing and welcome
back the Light,
Celebrate the year’s
turning.”
