As the winter solstice approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s common to feel that we have less energy to get things done on these short, dark days. Our ancestors in farming villages probably felt the same, but they didn’t worry about it because they already had gathered in the harvest, so their hard work for the year was finished. They simply acknowledged such feelings by lighting candles to brighten their homes during this season, understanding that it would soon pass. Now we have fiber-optic Christmas trees and other modern decorations, but the days of winter are just as short and dark as they’ve always been.
Unlike the farmers in those long-ago villages, most of us don’t have a natural break in our work this time of year. We may be able to take vacation time in December, but not everyone can do that—many people work in retail or other industries that are busier than usual. And even if we have vacation time scheduled at the end of the month, we’re still busy at work in early December, as well as making our holiday preparations.
So what’s to be done when we feel that we have less energy than usual and need some quiet, restful days? In addition to cheering ourselves up with holiday decorations and other bright and pretty things, I believe it’s important to keep in mind that we are doing enough. Even if we have ideas for projects that we’d like to do, and even if we have tasks that need to get done in the near future, we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves if we can’t find the energy to do them right away. Like our ancestors, we may just want to light a candle and say, “This too shall pass.”
Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.
Nice message! I have a Fiber optic angel that I really like 🙂 Need to get my decorations up!
That sounds pretty — I have a small angel decoration in a window, but no fiber-optic ones.
Hi Meg, great post, I agree we need to get ready for the harsh months ahead, and understand it’s party of nature, the Earth need this rest time to show off all her beauty in the spring. We should to the same, take easy now and enjoy this time.
Yes, I like that way of looking at it — the Earth needs time to rest, and so do we!
What a lovely read. I love lighting candles all the time, but especially at this dark time of year it brings a lovely light to the early darkness in the Northern Hemisphere. I find that the simple act of lighting a candle always reminds me to shine my inner light brightly. And then I can relax and watch the dancing flame. Perhaps we can allow ourselves to be more like our ancestors and accept that ‘not doing’ all the time is ok. Thank you Meg.
Thanks Delicia! I also like flameless candles; last year I wrote a post about how they can help with feelings of time pressure because they symbolize having plenty of time.
http://megevans.com/2013/11/25/burning-the-candle-at-neither-end
Beautiful post, Meg. What a great reminder to give ourselves a break and not beat ourselves up for that dark, energy-less feeling we have this time of year. Thank you so much. xo
Glad you found it helpful, Liz! 🙂
Great post, Meg! I never thought too much about how Christmas coincides with the winter solstice until this year when I noticed that I needed to give myself some slack about accomplishing everything on my holiday to do list. 3:00 rolls around and the sun is low in the sky and I think to myself, “Where did this day go?” Rest is so important this time of year, isn’t it?
Yes, it certainly is! Often the days feel like they go by so fast.