Winter Solstice: Embracing Hope in the Season of Rest and Reflection

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

December 21st marks the return of the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere in 2022. Coincidentally, many of us are buzzing about the arrival of an impressive arctic front as it blusters its way across most of the United States. Have you talked about the impending weather with someone this week? 

⸺

Iguanas falling frozen in time from the cold? Inconceivable! 

We’ve been madly preparing for the season of darkness and light with many holidays, celebrations, rites and passages. Many of us find ourselves connecting more often with others at shopping malls, restaurants, the post office, grocery stores, parties, and special gatherings with family and friends. My guess is you’ve had at least one chat about the arctic front this busy week. We are often taken with the arrival of the longest night of the year. Add a weather phenomenon to the roaring entrance of winter, and you’ve got a conversation starter and something worth finding time to contemplate.

The weather is mesmerizing and impressive throughout the winter season. Truly, it's fascinating throughout all seasons. Yet winter in the Northern Hemisphere has a particularly magical effect when precipitation turns from morning dew to mini frozen stars you can catch within a mitted hand. . . or an astonishing effect when frigid temperatures cause iguanas to fall from tree limbs in the south. 

I find conversations about the weather amusing and fascinating. Iguanas falling frozen in time from the cold only to resuscitate themselves once it warms up again? Inconceivable! What a powerful evolutionary phenomenon! We share our amazement at the strength of Mother Nature from the pull of the icy seas during the Cold Moon of December, to the breathtaking measure of snowy marshmallow drifts at the mountain tops and along the blustery, sweeping plains. 

⸺

Changing Seasons Invite Us to Pause in Contemplation and Reach Out to Others

In the magic of the season, we tend to reach out more readily to support one another before hunkering down to hibernate through the storms as winter wanes. December holds the anticipation of great joy and magic. Sometimes the season awakens feelings of stress, grief, and even shame. Yet hope is always on the horizon if you open your heart to contemplation.

Knowledge of changing seasons was life or death to our ancestors. Humanities’ shared emotions, rites of passage, and ways of life revolved around the knowing of the seasons. When we connect back to our roots, we are reminded that for the majority of our time on Earth, we have been deeply connected with nature and intertwined with the passing of the seasons as a way of life, as a way of survival. We seek an understanding of ourselves in our environment. 

Without sharing and experiencing our most raw emotions while making our way through the seasons, we would not have learned to thrive on Earth. We would not have learned to support one another in our seasons of darkness. We must move with the seasons and through our vulnerabilities, to weather the coming storms.

For me, the changing of the seasons evokes an innate stirring of vulnerabilities. I find my emotions ebbing and flowing throughout the seasons. My emotions naturally want to fall into a soft place of restoration as the autumnal days flow into winter’s darkness. 

When I fight the reciprocity of the longer nights and shorter days by pressing myself towards more doing and less presence, I sense stress welling up in my heart as it refracts inwards. When I resist, I find less heart space for joy. 

In nearly half a century on Earth, I have finally learned to begin letting go and letting people in for care and concern for myself and others. Our humanity wants to connect and support one another.

We need one another. 

When I express my vulnerabilities to those I care about and trust, I open my heart to accepting the support I need. I find the hope to move from rest and restoration to emerge into the light alongside those I care about.

⸺

Building Hope Through Contemplative Rituals

Today I woke to a thoughtful message from a soulful friend wishing me a happy solstice and a beautiful day. She could not have known that my dad and I shared this same ritual on the winter solstice for years. You see, my father died ten months ago in February. This day was a moment I was dreading as grief crept back into my heart.

I don’t remember when it started, but it was a share of vulnerability with my dad years ago over the overwhelm of the darkness of winter and the busy holiday season. Neither of us asked for support, yet a lovely ritual began. 

Fresh with anticipation of the new season, my dad and I would rush to call or message one another on this day. We shared a message of celebration for the magic of the shortest day of sunlight. Then, in contemplation, we would rejoice in hope that each day forward would gain miraculous minutes of sunlight as the frozen earth slowly turned over, renewing itself in preparation for joyous spring--our favorite time of year. 

Our ritual reminded me of the natural wonder of cultivating seeds of hope through patience, rest, and contemplation in the darkness. Once embraced, hope emerges towards the light enveloped in a new breath of renewal and life. 

⸺

Breathe and Scan: A Simple Meditation for the Season

In modern times, we can connect with our emotions through awareness of the changing seasons. We can feel in tune with our natural world by leaning into restoration, tapping into our innate ability to thrive. We can do this by releasing into a restorative place of meditation and contemplation. 

A keen method to tune into our emotions is to tap into a body scan: 

Sit or lay quietly in a comfortable place. Place one hand on your belly, and another on your heart. Take three deep breaths through your nose, exhaling through your mouth longer than you inhale. Feel your hand on your heart remaining still while your belly hand rises and falls with your breath. Simply notice the sensations in your body. What do you feel, and where do you feel these sensations? 

Congratulations! You reset the rest and restore anchor of your nervous system. When you tapped into your sensations tied to your emotions, your vulnerability cracked open. This is not easy for most people. You are brave and are cultivating hope! 

These sensations are messages your body is holding. Allow yourself to open up to them and see what thoughts and emotions arise. If it is overwhelming, seek support from someone you trust or a therapist to lead you to a place of safety and well-being. 

⸺

Contemplate Your Curiosities and Welcome the Seasons

As I breathe in through my nose down through my belly, I contemplate my heart compressing inwards. Feelings of anxiety follow. When I take time to rest and slowly breathe in peace and exhale emotional sensations, I begin to let go and let the season guide me. I fall back into place with the rhythm of nature. Mother Nature always has a way of balancing herself. My heart flows outward once again and invites joy, compassion, and hope as I move from the darkness to the light.

Have you ever found yourself curious about our connection to the seasons? How do the seasons affect our emotions? And on a grander scale, does the change affect our community through shared attachment to the environment? Philosophical questions for the ages. 

This December, I invite you to contemplate your own curiosities–Let go and welcome others’ support as you welcome the changing season. Become the light of hope for yourself and others, for the days will grow longer with patience and loving-kindness. 

Happy winter solstice! Make way for the falling iguanas. . .