Solstice

These are the dark days of winter. Our sunsets occur around 3:30 PM, each day. I become obsessed with light--the actual thing as well as the metaphor of light triumphing over dark, as can be seen by the title of a past post. Here is a glimpse of the low-level of the sun:

The above shot was taken at 2:30 in the afternoon. See why I am craving light? Fortunately, tomorrow is the winter solstice, the date that the Earth begins its tilt back toward summer.

The yearning for light is also metaphoric. It seems, particularly in the past month, that this world has been overwhelmed in shadow. It can be hard to want to be an informed world citizen and not feel some discouragement. 

It takes considerable effort to find those glimmers of light in the dark. They are out there, you just have to be mindful to find them. There is this, which brought some some warmth and comfort. Reminders of the good, the lights among us are a boost when we feel overwhelmed.

This past weekend the husband and I took our hounds for a drive up the river road. We found some beautiful spots. We got out into the sunshine, weak as it was, and reveled in it.

Later that day, I was walking the dogs before dinner. The sun had already set and a slim, fingernail of a crescent moon was hanging in the western sky. It was dark out, yet I became alight with it's beauty.