Of Longest Nights and Lengthening Light

Most cultures and religions find meaning in the solstices; those days when the light begins to either shorten or lengthen. Yesterday, flying backward in time as we returned to the states, it was surreal to think that we'd been awake in the same day for more hours than it actually held. Sometimes our days feel that way - too long. Hard days or empty days are especially prone to doing so. And some days, those that are joyful or meaningful or special or just filled with all that we love, pass by much too quickly.

In the spirit of sharing the beautiful words of others, here's what Margaret Atwood wrote of the winter solstice:

This is the solstice, the still point

of the sun, its cusp and midnight,

the year's threshold

and unlocking, where the past

lets go of and becomes the future;

the place of caught breath, the door

of a vanished house left ajar.