Today, December 21st, is the winter solstice. We are beginning to emerge from darkness into light.
The weeks between the end of daylight-saving time and the coming of the winter solstice are the darkest of the year in North America. And, as is so often the case, what we find in life, we find in groups, and we find in individuals. Physical and emotional darkness is a common human experience. And it’s not necessarily something we have to run from.
To paraphrase our teammate, Cate Bradley:
“Scary as they may be to us, when we face or enter the dark places, we find that we are stronger, braver and more resilient than we thought we were. We grow physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The growth is almost always there, even if it takes a while to see it.”
As we come out of dark times in life, in work, in our emotions, it may be a good time for introspection and reflection about what we’ve learned about ourselves and others as well as to celebrate our resilience. As the solstice reminds us, darkness doesn’t last forever. While we are in the midst of it or just emerging from it, we might as well look around and see what is there for us to learn.
“Darkness provides an opportunity to prove what you’re made of so you can better rise to face the challenges of tomorrow.” – unknown