As the yearly wheel brings us to the month of December, I feel deeply the loss of light as the nights continue to get longer and longer. Somehow it does not feel right to go out for my afternoon walk at 4 pm and return in full darkness. As people have done for millennia, I’m looking for ways to keep things warm both emotionally and physically as the colder weather settles in. I’m making a point to schedule in time to engage in rituals that help me tap into that deep inner light that exists deep within me – that exists deep within each one of us. What does that even mean, some might ask.

Well, the first thing it means is that I need to free up time and not give way to the temptations pulling at me to fill my schedule to the point where it’s overcrowded – visiting with friends, going out to concerts and movies, and all of the other holiday things that need to be scheduled – that I think I need to schedule – things that haven’t been allowed to be in my schedule for what seems like for so very long, and yet in reality, it’s been three years.

Three.

Long.

Years.

So, instead I’m looking for a balance in how I spend my time. I surround myself with light – holiday lights on my patio, lots of candle flame at night, and the light from my fireplace (albeit an electric fireplace). There is something about spending my time in these ways during these lengthening nights that help me to tap into a a part of me that exists deep within myself. I connect with that deep primal inner voice that is whispering, beckoning me inwards.

I find it in the small noticing of the moments as they pass by – the glow of a flickering candle flame, or the smile of one I love with the lights of a Christmas tree twinkling in the background, or in the way the light glistens from the raindrop on a leaf. The soul journey invites me to slow my pace, notice, and just be.

I know there are many among us that are experiencing deep loss, illnesses, and deep melancholy that comes with these lengthening nights. And I know there are those among us who are eager to spend time with loved ones that you haven’t seen for a while.

Whatever you are doing and feeling this holiday season, my hope and prayer for each one of you is that you will find time this holiday season to journey with your soul.