Winter Solstice 2020
This is about this very moment. This wonderful moment. Have you noticed? This week gives us the solstice. From the 20th to the 21st, to be precise. The shortest day of the year, and the longest night. My indigenous brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, understand this very well, as have all the great spiritual traditions. So I invite you to pause, breathe, and listen to what the light is telling you this solstice.
’Tis the season. A time of clarity and community, introspection and renewal. Time to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate light in darkness. Aum mani padme hum. As the Quakers remind us, “Where shalt thou seek the light if thou dost not turn within?” As the year turns, we turn with it. Such fact of life is so elemental, we often need reminding.
People in India have celebrated Diwali. Jews have celebrated the eight nights of Hanukkah. Catholics have observed the feast of Santa Lucia of Siracusa, Christian patron of Light and Sight, and soon Christians will celebrate the birth of Messiah. And in Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam and elsewhere Buddhists have observed Bodhi Day.
