The Call of the Winter Solstice

Before the world was industrialized and all her resources commodified, before colonial values dominated world cultures, humans' routines and rhythms ebbed and flowed in alignment with nature throughout the year. We would stretch our limbs out in the spring, work on our crops for the summer, and then harvest and celebrate in the fall. By the time winter rolled around, we would have used up our energetic repository, and need to switch gears from labor to rest.

Now that we have passed that threshold of winter, the days are getting longer and colder, and here in Maine the snow is finally sticking. While our schedules are busy with holiday affairs, we're eking out the last bit of creative energy before we recommit ourselves to self-care, personal wellness routines, and boundaries for our own best functioning. Our excitement around this time might even mask our true exhaustion, which usually becomes evident after the festivities are finally completed.

This end of year, embrace alignment to the seasonal cycle and the winter elements by moving slowly; infuse the mindset of rest into your daily activities. On your way to work, practice breathing in longer than you breathe out, and while you go about your chores, keep the thought "I do this with peace in my heart." When you sit down in the evening, settle mindfully into your seat, have everything you need before you move to sit down. This time is most fully taken advantage of by enjoying just a few more moments in stillness.

This is the call of the Winter Solstice - to dial back our energetic and creative outputs and come back home to ourselves, our bodies, our peace. We are still enjoying the abundance of our work from the year and will have to conserve and rebuild our energy stores in the next few months to prepare for our next year's harvest. You've worked long and hard, and have so much to be grateful for now; don't forget to give yourself and your spirit guiders offerings of gratitude for the blessings of abundance.

Merry Holidays, and Blessed Be,

Annemarie