THE LONGEST NIGHT

The passing of the Winter Solstice means Winter has really set in. The shortest day has past and very, very slowly the days will lengthen in sunlight hours. But until then we have many days of cold, grey skies, fog, and rain ahead.

For some people Winter brings the blues, or a feeling of sadness and slight depression. For some it deepens into Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). They want to pull the blankets over their heads and hibernate until Spring, just like our ancestors did. So what's the problem with a little melancholy, with a little introspection and contemplation over the Winter months? Nothing's wrong with it, it's just that we don't like matching our moods with the weather. The leaves fall off trees and we see bare branches. We see the essence of the trees. So it could be with our character as we are stripped of our leaves. Life has a way of paring us to the bone: a death, a trauma, loss of a job, financial strife, ill health or relationship failures could reveal the true essence of who we are. We could be facing the Winter, the long night of our soul.

I'm thankful for the Winter season. A season of little growth, of rest to the earth as well as to my soul. The sap still flows under the roots of the trees and of our lives. The life force is still slowly building up ready for Spring.

In the middle of writing this I wheeled outside to see what signs of life were about on a chilly afternoon. A young boy sped along on his skate-board, almost running into me. A young Asian girl with a violin in a bag on her back, waited at the bus stop. A young couple in shorts and tank tops pounded past, huffing and puffing, oblivious to the chill. And an old couple rugged up in jackets and scarves wandered along to the café for their afternoon hot coffee. Life goes on as usual in the pale sunlight.

I came inside and laughed at the "funniest home videos" on TV, and felt refreshed and reassured that all is well with the world. In the depth of Winter we hunker down and wait, wait for season to turn to the longest day.

"God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

Edith