The Winter Solstice marks the return of the light, but it also honors the wisdom of the dark. It reminds us that rebirth doesn’t require effort — only honesty.
This morning I woke with a familiar ache in my gut and heart, a pain I’ve schlepped around for many years. When it made its appearance today, I knew what to do. Instead of pushing the discomfort away, I took a moment to look around my room, allowing myself to be anchored in the present moment.
I lay back down, placed one hand on my lower belly and the other on my heart, closed my eyes, and took three slow rounds of breath. The discomfort didn’t disappear, but it softened.
Quietly, I spoke to my body, asking where the pain lived. My sweet body answered: heart and root. I sat up, eyes open now, and breathed again. Tears came. The heaviness I’d felt just moments earlier began to lift.
Looking around the room once more, I whispered, I am safe. I belong. I am loved.
I don’t know how long I sat there on the edge of my bed, but eventually the turmoil eased enough for me to rise. I fed the pups, washed my face, made coffee — the small morning rituals that steady me and remind me of my humanness.
Later, sipping hot coffee, I found myself wondering:
What would it be like if I stopped trying to become better… and started focusing on being freer?
Perhaps this is what the return of the light looks like — not striving, but softening.