As we’re moving into December we’re entering into the darkest part of the year. The winter equinox, which marks the official beginning of winter, is also the longest night of the year and the shortest day. It’s one thing to know this; it’s another to experience it. The mind does not feel: it does not suffer with the cold and the lack of energy that the darkness brings, nor does it delight in the warmth and radiance of the sunlight. It’s our bodies that sense these differences, and our hearts and souls that respond to their deeper meaning.
Our lives are marked by many natural rhythms. There are external ones like the seasons and darkness and light, and also internal ones such as hunger and eating, sleeping and waking, wounding and healing. And we usually have preferences about them. Most of us will prefer eating to hunger and healing to being hurt and in pain. These inclinations are part of our physical make up, and it’s good to live our lives in a way that respects and adapts to them.
But there is also much wisdom in embracing the ‘other’ part of the cycle, the one that we don’t naturally take to. Life becomes easier and happier when we learn to enjoy the contrast and change inherent in its movement. So, for example, most of us will prefer light to darkness, and some of us will find the darker part of the year difficult or even unbearable.
What does it mean, then, to ‘embrace the darkness’?
We let go of grumbling and struggling with it, and we can even come to appreciate some aspects of it. It’s easier to sleep when it’s dark, and it's more restful, too! When we make peace with the whole cycle, we can also give to ourselves what we naturally feel we need in December: more light. This may take the form of light therapy for SAD, lighting candles, making a fire, or putting the Christmas decorations up early.
But there is also much wisdom in embracing the ‘other’ part of the cycle, the one that we don’t naturally take to. Life becomes easier and happier when we learn to enjoy the contrast and change inherent in its movement. So, for example, most of us will prefer light to darkness, and some of us will find the darker part of the year difficult or even unbearable.
What does it mean, then, to ‘embrace the darkness’?
We let go of grumbling and struggling with it, and we can even come to appreciate some aspects of it. It’s easier to sleep when it’s dark, and it's more restful, too! When we make peace with the whole cycle, we can also give to ourselves what we naturally feel we need in December: more light. This may take the form of light therapy for SAD, lighting candles, making a fire, or putting the Christmas decorations up early.
Image by nuchylee, freedigitalphotos.net Many cultures and religions have festivals of light during the dark part of the year. There is Christmas with its celebration of light, Chanukkah with its ritual lighting of candles, and the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali. It’s a deep and heart-warming joy to celebrate the light when it’s so dark. So do light those candles and let yourself delight in their glow!
PS: If you live in the greater Montreal area, you're cordially invited to join me in a Celebration of Light, on Friday, 20 December 2013, at 7pm.
For more details >> CLICK HERE.
PS: If you live in the greater Montreal area, you're cordially invited to join me in a Celebration of Light, on Friday, 20 December 2013, at 7pm.
For more details >> CLICK HERE.
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