May the longest night and the shortest day bring rest to the mind and soul.
Embrace the magic that the darkness bares beneath deep in the chill and shift of the air.
As the cycle of light slowly increases may you always be blessed with the light from within.

How can we mindful during Winter?
The Winter Solstice (solstice meaning ‘sun standing still’), with the sun at its most southerly point, is a time to pause, reflect and enter a period of quietude. It is a time to rest the body and the mind, contemplate the year just gone and think ahead to the year to come.

“There is a tendency to want to hurry from autumn to spring, to avoid the long dark days that winter brings. Many people do not like constant days bereft of light and months filled with colder temperatures. They struggle with the bleakness of land and the emptiness of trees. Their eyes and hearts seek colour. Their spirits tire of tasting the endless grey skies. There is great rejoicing in the thought that light and warmth will soon be filling more and more of each new day.

“But winter darkness has a positive side to it. As we gather to celebrate the first turn from winter to spring, we are invited to recognize and honour the beauty in the often unwanted season of winter. Let us invite our hearts to be glad for the courage winter proclaims. Let us be grateful for the wisdom winter brings in teaching us about the need for withdrawal as an essential part of renewal. Let us also encourage our spirits as Earth prepares to come forth from this time of withdrawal into a season filled with light.

“The winter solstice celebrates the return of hope to our land as our planet experiences the first slow turn toward greater daylight. Soon we will welcome the return of the sun and the coming of springtime. As we do so, let us remember and embrace the positive, enriching aspects of winter’s darkness.
Pause now to sit in silence in the darkness of this space. Let this space be a safe enclosure of creative gestation for you.”
.. an excerpt of “A Celebration of Winter Solstice” from The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr…{Louisa Taylor}.