It’s an ancient tale, the story of birth from darkness into light. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the Coast Salish people tell the story of Raven, who courageously stole the Box of Daylight–containing the Sun–and brought light and warmth to the people. The Abrahamic traditions all speak of a Son who will or has brought light to the world, and the world started in the darkness….and then there was light. Even in the scientific theory of the Big Bang, the Big bang happened and brought light and everything into being out of the darkness–out of no-thing.
Yet the most familiar tale of all is our own story which begins in the dark confines of our mother’s womb, where an evolutionary miracle tale unfolded–the result of which brought us into the light of a new day as a human being. Our tale of birth is aligned with the world’s tales of birth.
In all the frantic energy of this season, this profound tale is unfolding as well. Quietly. Without a lot of fanfare, because its unnecessary to have fanfare to bring this about: Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is when the Sun is apparently lower in the sky than any other time in the year. Less daylight. More darkness. Yet….
The light is returning, bit by bit. A little bit more time before sunset in the evening. The sun will start to rise earlier soon. And before we know it, the light will have returned, and with it new growth, new babies of all sorts, and new life for all.
Meanwhile, let’s remember our humble beginnings: we emerged from the dark into the light of a new life for us. As well, every-time we go to sleep in the dark of night, we re-awaken to a new day in the light of our experiences.
I know this is a dark time for many of us: I am surrounded by people at the end of their lives, or people descending into the sadness and or madness.
I also know that sometimes, if we let ourselves release to it, we can go into a dark cave of our own creation. We can rest there. We can meditate or pray or simply be there. And then, renewed, we can emerge, re-birthing our selves into a new opportunity to remember who we actually are: Light Beamings disguised as human beings. (yes you read that correctly: We are Light BEAMings.)
Light a candle every evening for the next few days as an example of light beaming. A quiet light. A sure light. And a message to you: a new day dawns.
Solstice blessings, Elke