We are not meant to live in straight lines.
Nature shows the way, full of circles and cycles.
Orbits, flows, and seasons—these are not a coincidence. They’re an instruction manual.
Even our own bodies pulse moment by moment with the in-and-out of breath, blood, digestion, sleep.
So let us not fool ourselves with the myth of constant productivity.
“Always on” is a mirage.
Rest is a medicine, a void full of richness and creativity.
And there’s no better time of year to allow and celebrate this truth than right now, on the verge of Winter Solstice—the shortest, darkest day of the year.
Officially, December 21 is the beginning of winter, but in my world, it’s the middle of something.
Of a season of darkness.
Of a pull into rest.
It’s a time of reflection, inwardness, pause, stillness.
I like to honor these moments in nature as a teacher for the healthy rhythms in my life.
And so this weekend I will spend time on a friends’ land, time around a fire, time saying thank you to the dark.
I will reflect, lay to rest, and turn inward.
And I will practice gratitude, both for the dark, and for the light that begins returning this week.
Care to bring more of these natural rhythms into your own life?
Here’s one dead-simple thing you can do right this moment: click here to subscribe to my Earth Holidays Google Calendar (subscribing works best from a desktop browser.)
Every year for almost a decade now, I’ve manually updated this calendar with the exact time of every New Moon, Full Moon, Solstice, Equinox, and Cross-Quarter Day.
There’s nothing like it out there, so I take the time to create it for myself—and for you, if you like.
It means I get a reminder several times a month about these moments in our planetary cycles.
I take these moments as invitations to tune into rhythms of nature—and thus to the blueprint for the healthiest version of myself.
Give it a try? It’s the simple things that build into a beautiful life.
Solsticefully yours,
Rachel
PS – Here’s that link again to the free Google calendar. I have no way of knowing how many people subscribe, so if you do, hit reply and let me know?
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