Earthwise: Bringing together the wisdom of the Earth found in nature, science, mythology and spirituality
Solistice: The Winter Pause
It is the winter solistice. This is a literal moment of pause– of the time seeming to stand still for a space of several days. The literal meaning of solstice is standing still. When the solstice comes in the summer, it feels as if the long and bright golden days will last forever, that their length of day and night is fixed in time. And so it is in the winter solstice, but in a subtly different way.
Now there is a pause, as if the earth is letting out a long slow exhale. The light of the dawn is pale in the sky, etched above the bare silhouette of trees. This moment, this light also seems to pause, to hang quietly without movement.
Even as time seems to pause and stand still, it is shifting. The light returns, slowly and almost imperceptibly, but shift it does. And so it can be with many changes-there is change, definite change, but in measure so soft and slow they can almost go unnoticed.
The mainstreaming of Solstice
Solstice seems to have become mainstreamed. And there is no reason for it to be otherwise. It does not need to be a secret, hidden in the shadows, celebrated in the corners in a whisper.
But the mainstreaming seems to come with a rush of imposed meanings and practices, a TikTok like quality of how to “do” Solstice and what it means.
That said, Solstice is there for people to celebrate (or not) in whatever way they find meaningful. There is no one right way to do Solstice. But a mainstreaming approach seems to lose the sense of the sacred silence and the sacred pause.
What is lost in mainstreaming
There is a sense of losing the point of the celebration. True, just what ancient ancestors did at the Solstice–whether sunrise or sunset– and exactly what this event meant to them is lost. There are only hints that remain in the positioning of stone monuments. But whatever the real ancient meanings of Solstice, it connected with the sun rising or setting. With the length of day and the length of night. Of pausing to notice, in whatever way, the pace and rhythm of the Earth, the sky, the seasons. But this seems lost in the mainstreaming of Solstice.
The mainstreaming instead seems to bring a vivid selfie moment, a heavy social media presence, a sort of virtue signalling of observing in some fashion the Solsticie in a fashionable modern faux ancient way. Without a further thought about the stillness of the time, the literal pause, the shift of seasons and the shift of light and dark.
Sustainability
Sustainability, a worthy concept at its core, is also suddenly everywhere. Everything has to do with being sustainable. What sustainable is or means or needs to be achieved or what it will achieve becomes a tautology.
Living in a way that sustains the Earth–literally– is at the heart of the idea of sustainability. Being conscious of the use of the resources and abundance of nature and the Earth, respecting it, ensuring that there is something to hand forward to future generations– all of this is wrapped up in the ideals of sustainability.
But the word and the concept have taken on the meaning of everything, and thus, nothing. It has gone from an idea essential to connecting with the Earth and caring for its resources, its nature, its bounty, to a branding word that is slapped across labels to encourage consumer consumption.
Sustainability and the Solstice seem to me like they share much in common. There is a message of endurance, of solidarity, of considering the soft spiral of time and season. But all of this seems to be lost in the mainstreaming noise that now accompanies both the idea of sustainability and the observance of the Solstice.
Simplicity
What then is the alternative? My thoughts wander back to a classical Quaker concept– that of simplicity. While the concept of simplicity has many different meanings and interpretations within and without the Quaker community, I found this one in particular meaningful to juxtapose about the mainstreaming of Solstice and sustainability. It brings challengeing questions to consider and reflect upon what the multiple and layered meanings of simplicity are:
Simplicity in the light of the solstice
There is an attractive simplicity in the concept of the Solstice, and one that speaks to the enduring and never-ending cycle of the seasons– of a kind of deeply rooted sustainability.
This is not to discourage people from finding their own meaning-making around the Solstice. It is to encourage standing back in the contemplative pause of stillness and silence to take a breath and think about the value of simplicity. It is about considering the gentle message in this time of year and its subtle message. About the beauty in a quiet streak of light in the eastern horizon, of the sudden bird song of a dawn chorus as the first light breaks. And in that silence and stillness, thinking of what the Solstice is, what the sacred pause at this time of year is, and how deeply and necessarily it connects us to the wintering nature around us.
Wishing all a Blessed Solstice, however you choose to celebrate and observe, and welcome you along this continuing EarthWise journey into the lighter days.