The Dark, Too, Blooms and Sings

Dear friends, 

Today is Winter Solstice, which marks the official transition from autumn to winter. Today is the shortest day and longest night of the year. An apt time to think about darkness. 

A few days ago I was given the "gift" of COVID, of slowing down nearly to a stop, just after setting up for another Holiday Bazaar for the weekend. This meant not participating in the Bazaar myself, finding people to be at my table for the first day and missing the second. Thankfully, the worst of the sickness could have been much worse and it passed quickly- I am on the mend. This unplanned pause, which happened not long after a very different leap in the dark, has given me time to reflect. 

Wendell Berry writes:
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,

and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings. 
 

On this longest night we are invited to know the dark,
to recognize its mystery and fertility,
to savor it around us and within us,
to accept its invitation

to slow down,

to be still,

and to listen for its song.  

What do you hear? 

Just as love lives in light,
love lives in darkness.  
Love lives. 

Knowing that we often discount the gifts of darkness, the presence of love in darkness, I offer these questions:

What has darkness taught you about love? 

What does your own darkness teach you about love? 

How do you love the darkness within and outside of you?  

These are questions I am asking myself as as I ask you. I'd love to know what you discover. Perhaps I'll share my own answers, too. 


~~~
If you're wanting to reflect on the darkness and light of the last year, consciously transition to the new year, and do so with others, I hope you'll join me on December 30 for Mapping Life: Moving from 2022 to 2023. Find more information about it and 2023 classes here. 

If you're still looking for unique gifts, I hope you'll consider gift certificates for Heart Portraits and Sketches, Reiki, and Readings for Remembering. Every session is truly one of a kind. Gift certificates are 10% off through this Saturday, December 24th. Prices will be going up in January, so now is a good time to buy for others or yourself for next year. With missing the Holiday Bazaar, I brought back my 25% off Cards for Remembering sale, also through Saturday. 

Whether any of the above speak to you or not, I wish you well on this shortest day and longest night and hope that you encounter the gifts and the love in the darkness.

With curiosity and care, 
Cory