Happy Winter Solstice! The Winter Solstice for us in the Northern Hemisphere marks the longest night and shortest day of the year. It is a time that we all enter into a new direction of energy and start moving towards a phase of completion. It is at this time that we begin wrapping up the year and start reflecting on the lessons that the cycle of this year has brought us. It is the beginning of an energy shift for all of us. Spiritually, the Winter Solstice is said to be about “honoring both light and dark”. It is said to be a time to go within, reflect and to honor the darkness so that you can know that light will return, once again. It is a time for you to see the duality of life and that in truth, everything is one and the same. In truth you cannot perceive light unless you have seen the darkness; you cannot understand summer unless you have seen the winter. Both of those concepts need one another to be real, to exist. The Solstice teaches us that no matter how dark the night, the light will always return. And no matter how light the day, the darkness will always return. Today, honor the cycles of nature, of life. Honor both sides of yourself-the light and the dark. Begin to the understand that it is not about how often you venture into the darkness or into the light, but how you allow these states to move you, to change you, to soften you, and to awaken you to wholeness, to the love, which resides within and all around you, and me.

Just for today, I am grateful for all that I am, for all that I have and for all that I have experienced. I know that challenges are opportunities for me to grow. The more I learn the more I am equipped to handle whatever situations come up. I relax completely for I know that I am safe and everything is working out for my highest good. All is truly well in my world. And so it is.