(This was originally published on June 20, 2021. I made a few edits and additions for this year. It’s a timely invitation for reflection as we mark the summer solstice this week.)
“Allow the sun’s energy to illuminate your being by taking some time to really appreciate all that is positive and joyful in your life right now. Becoming aware that this time too will pass reminds us of the importance of stopping now and then simply to enjoy the good things that we have created in our lives.”
― Danu Forest, The Magic of the Summer Solstice
Tuesday, June 21st (at 5:13 a.m) is the summer solstice. The longest day of the year. It will appear for three days after the solstice as if time stands still. Those three days will feel like they are the same length before we begin a long slow journey towards the darkness of the winter solstics. (The same thing happens at the winter solstice, for the three days after, the human eye can't detect any change in the length of the days.) Some say those are three days to enjoy and consider the sun's radiance. Radiance is at its peak this week.
Over weeks and months, the days will slowly grow shorter. It can serve as a reminder of the ebbs and flows of life. The light and darkness, heat and coolness, the lengthening and the shortening, all things change, and there is a season for everything. Each year contains it all, the full spectrum of sunlight.
The flow of one season to another brings new physical realities (Longer days, shorter days, warmer days, cooler days, greener days, and browner days). Also, it carries more subtle "heart invitations."
"Summer is the season of the radiant sun, of succulent fruits, long days, short nights, dancing flowers, fireflies, steamy weather, and radiating heat. It is the season when the warm intensity of our sun signals vegetation to leap into fullness. The steady flames of the sun ignite a passion in the land, urging the fertility of all living things to produce an abundance. On this summer solstice, we gather to celebrate the day of longest light, this season of potency, when the fiery rays of our immense sun fill our hemisphere with intense heat and energy for growth. Let us rejoice in the power of the sun and its ability to give life to our planet. Let us also rejoice and celebrate the inner light that sustains us, the light that empowers our spiritual ability to grow deeper and stronger."
-Joyce Rupp & Marina Wiederkehr The Circle of Life: The Heart's Journey Through the Seasons
Summer is a season of potency.
Summer is a season of abundance.
Summer is a season of energy for growth.
Summer is when roots grow deeper.
Summer is a season of light.
Summer is a season when the tilt of the earth starts to shift. One journey ends, and another journey begins.
Summer is a season of ripening.
"Solstice is taken from two Latin words, sol which means sun, and stitium, to stand still. The summer solstice is the time of year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator, a time when it appears that the sun has stopped moving higher in the sky. On this day, the length of time with sunlight is the longest."
-Joyce Rupp & Marina Wiederkehr The Circle of Life: The Heart's Journey Through the Seasons
I wonder as I read about sol and stitium where my heart, (life, growth) is standing still? What parts of my life are in a heart solstice of light and growth?
Smaller and deeper is an invitation to pause and reflect on the deeper events and meanings.
What does the length of days mean to your soul?
What is the invitation?
What is the season of your heart?
The rhythms of the earth and seasons are inviting us to slow down, notice and consider how we might join the dance of radiance, growth, grounding, abundance, rooting and blooming that is happening all around us. What is your invitation?
A Blessing For Summer Solstice
May you fully experience the radiance of the sun. May the light of the longest day of the year be an invitation to light, potency, growth, rootedness, and abundance. As the sun seems to pause for a few days in the sky, may you too pause to feel summer's abundance. May you be surprised by light and radiance when we have the sun's fullness and carry that light forward.
Pause in the next few days notice the sun and the length of the day.
Notice the tilt of your heart—the invitation of energy.
Enter the season of summer with intention and purpose.
Some {SMALL} ideas:
Draw, write, paint-create something to mark the beginning of the summer season.
Summer is a season of growth, deepening, and abundance look for growth, deepening, and abundance in your own life.
Get up early and watch the sunrise.
Watch the sunset.
Eat a piece of fruit and appreciate the present moment.
Some {DEEP} ideas:
Reflection Questions (from The Circle of Life-Summer Solstice Celebration Ritual)
What is your life’s passion at this point in your journey?
Is it still hidden, or has it made itself known to you?
Is it waiting in the wings?
Is it alive and active?
How would you name it?
How do you feel about it?
Are you living it?
What is your approach to it?
What do you need to do to have the flame in your soul leap with life?
The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
I loved this novel; it's set between Poland at the beginning of WWII and present-day Florida. It's the story of a young girl and her family as the war comes to her small village. In modern times Alice's grandmother (Hannah) has had a significant stroke and can only communicate through an iPad. As the novel unfolds, we learn how the war changed her life. And how those changes shaped a generation, even without their knowledge. I went to bed thinking about the characters and woke up early to finish this novel. I enjoyed learning more about the history of Poland in WWII and the years after. It felt very timely given the strategic role that Poland is playing for refugees from Ukraine. I enjoy World War II novels so much, I have several more on my summer reading list. They seem important, the more we know about history, the better we can be at not repeating it. (That is the hope!)
All the quotes this week are from The Things We Cannot Say. I think as you slowly read through these ideas, you’ll see there is so much depth to consider. I couldn’t choose just one or two. Read through these slowly and see which quote, phrase or word “sparkles” for you. Walk with the words through the week, and see what you find for you from these selected passages. Notice if there is an invitation for you to rethink something in your own life.
“I knew with absolute certainty that small problems in a country can become immense tragedies when left unchecked. It started small in Germany. It even started small in Poland, long before the occupation. It started with a small group of people harassing and vandalizing and desecrating, and it ended with trainloads of my countrymen shipped to furnaces and dumped into a river.”
― Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say“Life doesn’t work that way, Alina. Hatred spreads—it doesn’t burn out with time. Someone needs to stand up and stop it. You watch, sister—when they’re done with the Jews, it will be our turn again. Besides, even if we could ride out the war with our heads down, and we sat back while the Nazis worked all of our Jewish friends to death, what kind of Poland could be rebuilt once they were gone? Those people are as important to this country as we are. We’re better off dying with honor than sitting back to watch our countrymen suffer,” he said.”
― Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say“To destabilize a group of people is not at all difficult, not if you are willing to be cruel enough. You simply knock out the foundations, and a natural consequence is that the rest begins to tumble. The Nazis knew this—and that’s why one of their very first tactics in Poland was to execute or imprison those likely to lead in any uprising against them.”
― Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say“Life has a way of shattering our expectations, of leaving our hopes in pieces without explanation. But when there’s love in a family, the fragments left behind from our shattered dreams can always be pulled together again, even if the end result is a mosaic.”
― Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say“Life has a way of reminding you that you are at the mercy of chance, and that even well-thought-out plans can turn to chaos in an instant.”
― Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say“I can't wait to tell him how much of a revelation it has been to do something like this - standing on a mountaintop for no reason other than the sake of the experience. This moment is an investment in myself. I'm giving myself permission to make a memory that benefits no one but me. I love being a mother, and I love being a wife. I even love being a daughter and a granddaughter. But as I stand here on the mountaintop, I'm not any of those things. I am simply Alice, and for one breathtaking moment, I'm completely present.”
― Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say“It’s a beautiful and unfortunately rare thing to have someone understand my situation instead of judging it.”
― Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say