Winter Solstice

Silence without sleep.

Around my home (in this hemisphere), it is the longest night of the year. It is nature asking us to rest, to go within, to swim and drink in the darkness. It is a hard thing for us to do, we busy creatures, thriving on success through action. Yet it is of no use to fight nature. Our body may survive but our soul quickly dies without inner rest.

It is a balance we must keep - to find a peace, a rest - without going to sleep. Allow the eyes to close and dreams to come but keep the fire burning. This inner retreat that nature requests of us is so that we may recharge, learn and discover what lies beyond that which spring and summer may cover over, fertilize the soil that honest growth may occur as the days grow longer. If we sleep through it, allow the fire to die out, growth that will come with the sun will simply be dry and quick to death.

I wish for myself and for you a peaceful retreat into the self, a restful and insightful evening, and a wakening tomorrow from your deepest sleep.


***A Poem from Rumi***
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the door sill
Where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

***

Namaste. (The divine within me recognizes and honors the divine within you)