Today is a special day. It's Winter Solstice! Days have been getting shorter and shorter since mid-summer, but from now on they will start to get longer again. I couldn't be happier about that. And whether the marking of the *literal* solstice matters to you or not, perhaps you can appreciate, as I do, the simple concept that from today on out, things are just going to get brighter.
Today is the darkest day you'll have to deal with for another full year. Tomorrow the daylight will be a few minutes longer, and the next day, a few minutes more. Every day, week by week, you'll have more and more time with the sun, longer days, less darkness. It's good for your mood and energy level. But it's also nice in a figurative sense. I've been really struggling emotionally this week because of many stressful things that I have "let" bother me: financial issues, health concerns, not having my oldest son here for Christmas (he is heading to college in January, though, so that makes me proud), missing my father who died 20 years ago this month, marital issues, recovering from my illness, and teenager-behavior concerns. Each thing is like a splinter (some are more like porcupine quills) that, if not taken care of properly, continue to work their way deeper and deeper, causing a lot of discomfort and infection. I am itching to get these issues resolved and return to my desired state of happiness. Some are more difficult to remedy than others... but generally I'd say that today I am more *down* in mood than I have been all year. That's pretty much par for the course though; this time of year often troubles me a bit, with its combination of short days, gloomy skies, being housebound, and emotional crap that pops up in December.
Anyway, today I am breathing a true and literal sigh of relief for the Winter Solstice. I feel SO much more hopeful knowing that the darkest days are behind us and that things will only get better and brighter from today on out. I look forward to each day getting longer and building up through spring and summer and a return to warmth and sunshine and flowers and green. I can hardly wait! I am actually excited to have a fresh start of sorts today. I need it, mentally. I want to savor the optimism I hold that not only days, but life itself is going to just get better and brighter from here.
Weight this morning: 227.
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