Winter solstice

Night of the long shadows

Night marking winter beginnings

Marking paradoxically, the return of the sun

And in days to come

A rebirth

A new year

New moments to recreate and re-envision this life

Winter solstice

Arriving on the whispered tail of increasingly long shadows

Turning again toward the coming light

A night that can only be opened to with kindness

Kindness in the depth of suffering

Kindness in the depth of pain and despair

Kindness that knows to

Stop, to

Pay attention, to

Be still, to

Wait, to

Have faith, to

Trust, to

Care, to

Be present

Kindness that knows that this

Is enough

Is a radical act of love

Bringing light

To the shadows

Allowing the winter

At its deepest darkest freeze to

Feel the warmth

To nurture the shoots

To have faith

That growth of the green promise will come

Winter solstice

As we turn anew toward the sun

Will bring to these shadows

Compassion

Patience

Capacity to protect solitude

Be the guardians of our solace

And that of the other

Protect the slow lumbering human process

Taking its own time

Needing its own space

Hibernating

Nurturing

Waiting

To turn

Toward

And begin again