Approaching the Solstice

It's dark this morning, unusually so. A pineapple express is moving through the area, bringing with it warm temperatures and rain. So, despite the fact the sunrise was to occur a few minutes ago, there is no appreciable difference in the ambient light. The winter solstice is just a week away. The enclosing darkness will deepen just a bit more before the sun will again move slowly away from the southern horizon that has captivated it for the past months.

These weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are filled with holiday parties and multiple activities at church. I welcome the busy and bustle, as it makes the dark days pass quickly. At the same time Evan reminded me yesterday of my advice to him not to regard life as something that will happen later... Today IS your life. Regard it as such.

Though my advice is usually more palatable when I'm dispensing it, I think I'll gratefully accept it this time and value these days for what they are. Too quickly the challenges of the moment will pass and I'll wistfully recall the good times when I was gainfully employed and fully engaged.

As the Longfellow poem exhorts: Let us then be up and doing with a heart for any fate. Still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait.