This will be my first attempt at offering a meditation of my own, instead of posting a video from youtube ...fun as those are (and oh *so* easy for me..)

During this time of year, I think a lot about stillness, and how much so we aren't (still) during the holidays. There are four points during the year that are marked by the shift in length of the days and nights as a result of the tilting of the earth: the equinoxes and the solstices. I think the winter solstice is one of the more dramatic turning points, at least in the northern hemisphere, as it still seems to carry forth from ancient times that hushed expectation of the light retuning after the longest night of the year, and the ever so slight concern that it may not.

Can you picture the vigils held... the feeling of responsibility to usher in, or even be midwife to the birth of the Light, and get a sense of how those rituals may have developed into the Christian celebration?

It's a powerfully magical time.. especially if one takes a moment to breathe it in.

I invite you to do that now.

Find a quiet place to read these words, or read them first to get a sense of the feeling behind them, and then make yourself comfortable where you have a few minutes of quiet. Better yet, step outside in the night air, under the stars, where you can better grasp a sense of the earth as she turns on her axis.

Notice your body where it is standing or sitting.... in either case with an awareness of your feet on the ground. Picture a string attached to the top of your head and gently pull it so as to gently lift yourself up, but gracefully. Allow your shoulders to relax.

Place your attention on your breath.. not forcing or coaxing it, but allowing it to rise and fall. Follow it with your attention, and notice the pause in between the inhale and the exhale. This is the place in between the activity... the solstices, the point of turning where the motion is neither here nor there... the pause in the pendulum swing, before the energy is gathered or released.

Stay in this place for a few minutes.

There may be a hundred things left on your to-do list.. that will ever be so... but right now, allow yourself to be aware that in this moment, nothing has to happen. Nothing is happening. Let yourself be filled with the peace of this stillness, even if for a moment. It is always here for you.

Cultivate a trust in stillness. Know that life will still be there in all its glorious mayhem when you return. When you feel overwhelmed, listen to your breathing, and in particular to the space between.

Peace be with you.