Solstice Blessings

Meeting the Dark With Our Light

It’s still dark, a lingering star shining on the eastern horizon as I pour a second cup of coffee. I’ve been trying to write but only want to stare out the window, waiting patiently for the sun to turn the cumulous clouds pink.

I’ve been working all week on a couple of posts – one about reflections on Wicked and the enduring political implications of the stories of Oz, and a second about my recent trip to Dallas and Durant, Oklahoma, consulting on a tourism development project for the Choctaw Nation and my experiences in their casinos. But I can’t bring myself to finish them. They are simply too depressing. Blather about all that’s wrong. What kind of gift is that? They’ll have to wait.

As the Winter Solstice, Haunnika, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Day approaches, it’s time to join people around the world in meeting the dark with celebrations of light. Focus only on beauty, love, good tidings, and sharing joy with family and friends. Rather than consume more external things, especially all the terrible news, we can treat this dark time as an invitation to turn inward, wonder, and re-ignite our internal fire.

These dark times were made for us. Cultivating dignity in yourself and others by challenging systems of superiority, scarcity, and sameness is a radical act. If you aren’t already, think about where you can exert influence and take risks, even if it makes you uncomfortable or unpopular. Otherwise, we can and should expect the worst.

Something has changed within me,

Something is not the same.

I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game

Too late for second-guessing

Too late to go back to sleep

It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap

~ lyrics fromDefying Gravity, the final song in Wicked

by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth

As we gather with loved ones, reflect on the past year, and set our intentions for 2025, I hope that all of us will remember the power and light of one who refuses to fall in line.

"Without knowing the outcome, we have to try anyway." ~ Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Wishing you an awe and light-filled, joyous holiday season ~ Sue