Winter Solstice

Honoring The Dark

Happy Winter Solstice!

Today marks the shortest day of the year. It is a day to rest, reset, and be reminded to slow down. It is a day of honoring the darkness and calling in fresh light. It is a day of soul cleansing. Breathe in. Release. Breathe out.

It is a good reminder, on our journey toward joy, of the lessons we can learn from our own darkness and shadows. We often sugarcoat or avoid sharing the darker chapters of our lives, afraid of what people may think or ashamed of what we have gone through. We tend to ignore, downplay, or rewrite the bad moments of our stories rather than honoring them, giving them space, and inviting the light back in. We can be honest about our pain and struggle without being defined by them; they are a key part of what makes each of us who we are. It is only through the longest night that we come to appreciate what the light offers us.

When we hide, bury, or ignore parts of our story, the pain tends to amplify and grow within us rather than be subdued; we become consumed by the darkness rather than freed from it. It is through allowing ourselves to be fully honest with our stories, to wade through the dark, and to face our whole messy selves with love that we find true liberation, healing, growth, and joy.

I know that I would not be where I am today without the struggles that I have navigated - I know that I have been shaped and molded by my hurts, pains, and fears. When I have tried to run away or hide from the pain, fear, or frustration, I have ended up worse off - it has only been through allowing myself to face the hurts that I have found healing. I am still surprised sometimes when old wounds surface, and I am forced to deal with the feelings again, but I have come to learn that this is part of the process. Each new cycle and iteration of my feelings offers me new opportunities to grow, learn, and explore those parts of who I am.

You are not broken if you continue to find yourself stumbling into familiar feelings that you thought you had waded through; this Winter Solstice reminds us that we all must go through these cycles of light and dark to find wholeness.

Every year, we find ourselves back in this moment. Every year, we are invited to pause, reflect, and take stock. A year consists of both the longest day and the longest night. It is not one or the other, but both at once, just as we are both our light and our dark, our joy and our pain.

And, think about it: You are not the same person you were a year ago.

So, even though we revisit the darkness, we bring new light, new perspective, and new versions of ourselves to meet it. The same is true when we meet our own inner darkness or pain. We grow in it and through it. We are not defined by it.

Yes, darkness will return. But, so will the light.

Yin and yang.

Honor the dark and let it go. Breathe in. Release. Breathe out.

Now, let us turn to the light and invite in beauty, joy, and gentle love.