A Call to Go Inside from the Snowy Sangres
All of heaven and all of earth coordinate at the Winter Solstice. … Regardless of all the stories and traditions, this is a personal event of your life. It is the time that has been set up for you and Heaven to be with each other without interference. Gregge Tiffen (Winter Solstice: The Christmas Story)
Become totally empty; Quiet the restlessness of the mind; Only then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness. Lao Tzu
In 2013 when I wrote my first Solstice blog post, I used the above quote from Lao Tzu and mused:
In a noisy, full world, I wonder how it would be to live from the place of allowing everything to emerge from emptiness. I wonder not just how it would be, but how I might create this experience more often in my life. And, I dream about the world we will co-create as more of us take this path.
In a noisy, full world, it’s no wonder that emptiness has a bad rap. “Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation and apathy,” says the Wikipedia article on the topic, highlighting emptiness as a “negative, unwanted” condition.
This Western view seems to ignore that, on some level, all creation starts from emptiness. A great novel starts with a blank computer screen (or piece of paper). Great art starts from a blank canvas. A fabulous soup starts with an empty soup pot. The planet was formed in emptiness at precisely the right place and the right time.
Okay, it’s quite a leap from a blank canvas to the formation of our home, planet Earth. But at this time of Solstice, I’m reminded that this is a time to celebrate the birth of the planet. In the deep stillness, quiet, and dark of winter, I’m choosing emptiness as a focal point of my celebration.
As I began to use Gregge Tiffen’s work more in my life and in these weekly musings, I noticed how easy it is to get caught up in the world and how the world can fill us up with its seeming demands. Emptiness emerged anew:
It’s all too easy to find ourselves hooked in the hustle and bustle of seasonal activities and ‘wrapping things up for the year’. We’ve forgotten that which we know deep inside: this is our time to re-calibrate from the inside out. And, to do so we must empty, release, let go and recognize the wisdom that done is done.
All too often we fear being empty – even for a brief moment in time. Emptiness seems like a strange word to ascribe to the season of winter holidays with their bright lights, joyful sounds, and festivities to match. And, yet, giving yourself the gift of emptying is an important part of being prepared to receive the new that is sure to come as the sun begins her journey back to the north. After all, the full glass cannot receive more wine.
In the Christmas Story, we are told that the inn was full. And, yet a receptive place for the birth was found. So it is for each of us. We too need to empty and make ourselves receptive to the new. Solstice is a time to declare one cycle complete, making way for another to begin. It is a time to embrace the realm of spirit and turn our backs on the material world, if only for a brief time. It is a time to bless and release all who have crossed your path in this cycle, knowing that those who are meant to return will be there in the new one. And, perhaps most important of all, it is time to let go of who we were in the cycle that is completing. The ‘you’ of that cycle is complete as well. And a new you of your design and making awaits.
In these 10 days leading to the December 21 Solstice, I invite you to join me for a few minutes or more each day to let go of the noise and busyness and demands of the world. Let’s (re)discover how that feels and what possibilities emerge. As our planet prepares to celebrate her birthday, let us honor her by taking time to reflect the gift of heaven and nature singing as one. May we take time to empty ourselves of the world and its chaos and then sing along in our own unique and harmonious way.
This Prelude from Gregge Tiffen’s ‘Winter Solstice: The Christmas Story’ is a beautiful reminder of the choices we can make now in winter’s quiet celebration and beyond winter into spring. May it support you to ease into the sacredness of this time - http://cindyreinhardt.com/blog/prelude-to-solstice-2018
The Snowy Labyrinth in the Woods Out Back