I rode ferries a lot as a youngster, more than most I think. I have many, many memories of windswept hair and rosy cheeks, the ever pungent scent of fried chicken fingers and clam chowder and acrid coffee. I can remember a particular ferry ride: it was dark, probably winter, definitely evening. The sea was so rough and the boat swayed to the rhythm of the water. Plastic trays full of food and packaging slid across tables, slaves to gravity and our tummies felt the deep unease that comes with floating atop the great unknown. This ride doesn't quite match that one in terms of the choppy sea but that feeling in my tummy, that deep knowledge of the unknown - not fear, just awareness - is very much with me.
Today is the Winter Solstice. Longest night of the year, a time of darkness, a time of deep rest and reflection, a winding down and slowing up. While we take our time and embrace the dark and let the cold bring with it the cool healing that only ice can bring we also celebrate the return of the sun, the climbing toward longer days and shorter nights and the return of the birds and new growth. A time to set intention.
This path we walk is not linear, it is cyclical. We watch the seasons come and go and come again. Bear witness to the natural world as it sheds its skin and rests, only to burst into life again with all the vigor and restlessness that only the wild can hold. This explosion does not begin in the spring, it does not begin in any year, it began in the far distant past (or maybe somewhere in the future?) and will continue in circles for as long as we call this planet home. Even in these, the darkest moments, there is life and there is hope and there is all the potential for every moment of future life and love.
This solstice is a deep one, I see so many of my closest loved ones grappling with a multitude of different gremlins, personal and interpersonal, emotional and tactile. It can often feel like we are all alone in this struggle, and I suppose in some ways we are, but in so many ways we are not. We are connected, we are made of the same stuff, breath this same air and I send out love to each and every one of you who reads these words. So let us light fires this darkest night, light a bonfire, light a candle, light a match and together we can be quiet and reflective, we can be boisterous and joyful, we can inspire each other and embrace each other and light up the night.
So many blessings to all of you beautiful creatures,
All my love,
Alex
