In darkness —
I slow down
I look within
I care for myself
I comfort myself
I pour out love
I breathe in love
I make peace with being alone

I wrote those lines at the Unitarian Universalist Winter Solstice service a month ago when prompted to consider the gift of Darkness. It was certainly a challenge to contemplate the shadow side of life as a positive thing. I feel oriented towards the Sun in so many ways — an August birthday, a “morning person”, uncomfortable at night driving, a Californian for 15 years — yet Night can create a cocoon that births creation in beautiful ways.

“Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high” — John Denver

We are approaching that season in the Wheel of the Year known as Imbolc, halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox, which falls on February 1. From now until that day, daylight in my area of the globe will increase by 10 minutes. Slowly, the Earth here is warming. Today it was close to 60 degrees F. Oh, Happy Day!
Thank you, Sofia, for reminding us of the yin and yang of our Earth experience. Please visit HER POST to see this week’s challenge.