In ancient times when the sun set on the Winter Solstice, creating the entrance into the longest night of the year, rituals and prayers were given in awe to honor the light and prepare for the darkness that followed. At a heart level the people had no certainty the sun would rise again, and when it did the next morning, it was a cause for immense celebration, for the sun was the source of life.
Now we know it will rise. We seldom take time to feel awe. The natural world continues without much of our attention. Yet it is the natural world that sustains us, not our technology, not our hectic pace, not our politics or money or wanting of this or that.
In our own corner of the Universe we are given a bounty beyond measure. In the sound of the wind, in the call of a bird, in the fleeting sight of an animal crossing a meadow, in a child’s laugh, we are in a sacred place whether we acknowledge it or not.
On this particular day, as the sun sets, take note of it, if you will. Stop whatever you are doing and thinking for just a moment, and give thanks to the sun, a prayer for its return, and a welcoming of the long night with the anticipation and hope for a new day.
In this way we align with the ancient ones who understood we are not separate from the natural world, but in our own corner of the Universe we are embedded in it, a part of the whole, an abiding and deep and vital part of All That Is.
Beautiful