Return of the Light

I felt devastated this last week following the events of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. I witnessed humanity facing its darkest hour in history, where billions of people begged for their lives or hope for any kind of future, and having their pleas fall on the deaf ears of many of our world's leaders. What heartened me though was that most of us listened, we really listened, and we heard. And I know we will do whatever it takes.

So this year more that ever I felt the need to celebrate the winter solstice. A few days earlier I brought in from the cold the cedar root that the beautiful man I share my life with unearthed from the beach for me as a house-warming gift. In the warmth the root opened up and took on its role as protector of hearth and home. In the late afternoon I hung lights, my little "soul catchers", stars, hearts, and a few of my favorite things.
I filled the room with candles in tapers, floating in a bowl, groupings here and there. As the sky darkened, we shared in the lighting of the candles and put on the tree lights to celebrate the return of the light.
My home is mostly windows and skylights and we were surrounded by light and repeating reflections. Instead of closing the blinds we left them open, letting the light shine for all to see and enjoy.
In ancient times, people celebrated this time of year to honour their belief that winter would pass and that the light would eventually return. For many people, that hope was all they had to get them through the darkest of days.

In these dark times let us all keep lighting candles of hope. Let us commit to doing whatever we can in our own lives and our communities, make our leaders listen to us, so that we can save this Earth and ALL of it's inhabitants, so that eventually the light will return.

Wishing you all a Happy Solstice ~