It's hard to believe that we are already here, at the Long Dark Night. Our beautiful and benevolent Earth has circled around the sun again, in its endless dance through space and time, bringing us to the completion of yet another cycle. And what a year it has been! We've seen world-wide plague, riots, isolation and despair; we've seen government structures pushed to their limits, extreme polarization and separation.
We have also seen the beauty of the human spirit rise up in bravery to confront the things that have not been working. We've witnessed love in the face of tragedy, solidarity in the face of desperation, and unity where some thought it impossible.
So in this Solstice season—the dark night, the slumber, the death and rebirth of the sun—let us each look deep inside our own hearts and lives and uncover what is there that needs to come out into the light. As the current paradigm shifts and begins to dissolve at our feet, let us breath new life and energy into systems that work, not just for us, but for all people. Not just for people, but for the millions of species who all call Earth home.
We can no longer shut our ears to the voices of the many who cry out to be seen, named and heard. We must stand up and use all the tools we have to co-create a new reality that has new values: inclusion, equity, reciprocity, recognition that humans are not the center.
This year, on the longest night, we invite you to set intentions for 2021. This is often a time for new diets and altering personal habits, because only when we are well can we be our best selves. How about adding more yoga and meditation into your life? Creativity is also crucial to being a whole and happy human; what skills have you been putting off: friction fire, tanning that hide, weaving a basket? Channel that energy through your hands. The forest beckons us to sit quietly beneath a tree and drink deeply of the wild: who's voice sings in the trees? Who grows beside you who can feed and heal you?
We also invite you to dive deeper into the waters of balance and love: where can you expand your integrity? What challenges can you lean into with more attentiveness? Where can you make a difference? Where can you bring healing, awareness and peace? Imagine the world and how it could be if we each took the time to live this way, then move in that direction. Your ancestors will thank you; future generations will thank you; and we thank you.
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