Dec 19

The Marrows of the Year

It’s well documented that depression reigns in this time of the year. Not only does the darkness take a physical toll upon our bodies, but our environment is dropping leaves, stripping to the bark. Many of us struggle to get out of bed, feeling our connection to the earth and her rhythms. Others barrel into the busyness of the holidays, the garish blur of tinsel, royal icing and lights a distraction from the current of the year. If you become quiet, you can hear the message so much of Western society tries to ignore.

Everything dies.

I know that’s not the tidings of the season you expect to hear, but it is what the season teaches us… that we must learn to navigate fallow periods with dignity; that we must sleep deeply to awaken with glittering intensity; that we must be still to see the knowledge lying in the depths of our being. The peaks and valleys of the year test us: we willfully immerse in Midsummer’s flame, to be quenched and tempered in the darkest days, and brought to bear on the year before us. We are instruments, our whole beings aching to ignite in the glimmer of sunrise on the darkest day. It is the promise of brighter days, new adventures, fresh awareness.

Over the last half of the year, we have built a small, but strong community: in the marrows of the year, let us come together in covenant to honor the dark and together, cup our hands to shield the flickering of hope.

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