Today is the longest day of the year. The longest marked time in the Northern Hemisphere of daylight. About 15 hours worth of sunshine. In minuscule increments we will start creeping toward the Winter Solstice. But that is tomorrow. Today, there is so much light!
The view from my desk out to the light of the Summer Solstice in Tennessee.
Since leaving organized religion a few years ago I have gotten even more curious about the natural cycles and flows we find in Nature and the Universe. I have always been a fan of the Heavens, it just has changed its meaning to me through the years. It used to mean a destination, now it mostly means the beautiful firmaments of the Universes’ past and present. I see the glory of creation in the Sun, Moon and Stars as well as the cycles of plants and creatures in our natural world. Which we are very much a part of, despite our best efforts to the contrary.
Summer Stefanie wears tank tops and shorts and dresses and skorts.
I love marking things like the Summer and Winter Solstice’s and the Midwinter day where we begin to welcome light back after the darkest, coldest days of Winter. I love thinking of Midsummer which, turns out, is only a few days after the Summer Solstice. Mostly due to multiple different calendars being used throughout history. I love watching the life cycles of the bunny rabbits in my back yard and the Cardinals flitting in and out of the Dogwood trees that sit right next to my back deck.
I am grateful for change. I am grateful for seasons of light and darkness. The Universe has a way of Yin-Yang-ing things into balance.
Also, the Summer Solstice is a time where we can feel a closeness with the other worldly.
[Midsummer was seen as] a time when the normal laws of nature or divinity could be suspended, when spirits and fairies could contact humans, when humans could exceed the usual limitations of their world.
A quote byRonald HuttonUniversity of Bristol Professor of History
I think I will keep my eyes open for a few fairies this week. Hoping they will bring my summer days and nights good luck and rich time with family and friends.
Summer, for me, is about traveling home to my childhood haunts. Walking streets younger versions of myself walked. Reveling in time with Elder members of my family. Digging my toes into the red dirt of one of my favorite places on Earth. Moab, Utah.
Summer is grounding. It frees us from the zippers and cardigans of the cooler seasons and reveals our shoulders and knees. We see more of each other, literally. We see friends at the park or the grocery store on late night runs. We see bands at outdoor concerts and fireflies at sunset.
We emerge from our Winter cocoons and walk about the world on a regular basis. It can be so glorious and also leave you with so many mosquito bites.
It’s a beautiful way to mark the year. Leaving behind older versions of ourselves and looking toward the next seasons. The new versions of us. The layers we can keep adding to and taking away until the very day we leave this Earth.
Past meets present and looks to the future at this juncture.
I hope to be a part of making a meaningful and liberated future for all of us.
Happy Solstice!
Sending love to you out there in the ether,
Stef