Our conceptual mind moves in mostly linear connections — albeit at lightning speeds. Our bodies ebb and flow in the rhythms of the natural world we are made of. Each day, our conscious agenda absorb, emit and undulate in the rhythms of the Cosmos. So whether we acknowledge it or not, on the Winter Solstice, we find ourselves inhabiting the darkness of the darkest day of the year.
In the Hawaiian language, the word for darkness or night is 'Po'. Deeper meanings of this word are hidden in the darkness, hidden from our understanding — what is found 'beyond the horizon'. The Winter Solstice is a living invitation to experience some of what lies beyond the horizon of our conscious perceptions of who we think we are.
Are We Willing to Meet the Longest Night?
It is no small feat to allow our controlling minds to let go enough to face the unknown. We, humans, hold archetypal fears of darkness which are by now embedded in the modern western culture. If we do face 'the darkness' we want to transform it, heal it or change it. We do not realize that it has a function, purpose, and life of its own. We have limited 'darkness' to the realm of the negative - as we imagine it must be without the light!. But it is an integral part of the Natural Order of Life. As soon as we vilify it, it will rise, with even greater urgency, to be recognized.
We fear the darkness because it cannot be controlled, manipulated, or even known. It is not in the realm of our 'Kingdom' or 'Queendom'. It does not feed our pre-destined idea of who we are or how we wish to be seen. In order to embrace it, and to embrace our own wholeness, we have to surrender the crown and admit that life itself is bigger than we are.
The Journey into Darkness
The journey into the unknown brings us closer to harmony with Natural Order. We welcome The Mystery where we get to discover, not decide, what lives and dies in us. Life, if we allow it, is always in favor of the highest and best good of all — though perhaps a good we cannot see or know from our tiny vantage point. So if we are courageous, we will let go into what can feel like death itself. We sometimes have to be willing to meet parts of ourselves that we have denied and buried. The 'truths' that were lies and lies we didn't want to believe about ourselves can become painfully clear.
There is a possibility that we will awaken, at some point, to find that this meeting was the seed of a new life we could not have imagined. In any case, once we have chosen to let go, we will be led by a destiny greater than our own.
In this Ancient wisdom, Po is also seen as filled with all potential — the opening to infinite possibility. The darkness is where Creation begins. Without its mysterious embrace, there is nothing to bring into the Light.
The Winter Solstice is an opportunity to open to the Natural Order of Life, Spirit, Creation, Energy, Consciousness in the vast sea of the Great Mystery..........all inside of you. I wish you well on the Journey, and what lies beyond.
Happy Solstice.