And though the world was illuminated by dazzling lights and chorus; and though there was excitement about gifts to be given and received; and though they prepared to celebrate holidays with long forgotten pagan roots, there too was a sadness there.
They’d trudged through plague, were dragged through infighting, they’d cried, they’d raged, they’d broken up, they’d come through fire together and come out stronger, they has spent so much time warring with each other and with themselves that the fire had burnt low and felt like it might go out.
What more?
What next?
I can’t!
And in the season of lights, they’d forgotten that the lights were meant to cover the darkness and that within the darkness there was a promise of rest. An opportunity to stop, to recollect, to reflect on all that had been accomplished.
To stop.
They had all forgotten to stop.
Like the darkness, they had grown to fear rest.
In rest, we can bring an end to the stimulation, the growth, the movement of spring and summer. We can rest, digest our progress, and regenerate ourselves before the next spring.
Our spirits grow low because our bodies know the tie we have to nature cannot be broken by a mind washed in capitalism and productivity.
Your sadness is not wrong.
Your lethargy is not wrong.
Your feelings are proof or our connection to nature.
And in nature, there is always a natural period of rest.
So wrap yourself in blankets. Lather yourself in oils. Lay in bed early. Eat heavy, rich, nourishing meals.
In short: love.
And not just because ’tis the season’.
Love yourself through this dark time of the year, this period of rest and digest, and all of your other periods of darkness.
And the greatest gift? To show compassion and grace for others as they do the same.
Caia Rose 