The shortest day, the day that offers us the least light of all of the days of the year is today. On this, the astronomical beginning of winter, there is more darkness across the hours but this December 21st showed me remarkable light, no matter how brief.
It felt necessary to mark this celebration in at least a small way, with the lighting of a candle in the morning. The specific time of winter solstice was 9:21am (GMT). I have learned that to understand these milestones through the seasons is to navigate the trickier times as smoothly as possible. Despite what tricks I may have of my own, winter is not to be underestimated when it comes to steering your emotional wellbeing and quality of life through the all enveloping cold, dull months of December.
Acknowledging all that comes with this turn in the year, respecting it and even enjoying it eases the passing through. A break in the clouds came as a sign to be outside in the forest, to go witness the sun’s changing position in the sky and contemplate its power at it’s farthest distance from our planet.
In the forest much has changed since autumn. Almost all the leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees and on the ground they appear to be larger than they were overhead, especially the chestnut tree leaves that have formed a sturdy carpet burying their prickly seed casings out of sight. Maverick is cautious approaching the trodden paths under the trees, he knows the location and can still detect the chestnuts with his incredible sense of smell but he soon learns there’s nothing to fear. It is soft and comfortable under foot. Most mushrooms and fungi are gone now too and the storms have uprooted trees, causing them to prop against their neighbours at haphazard angles. They seem exposed, showing parts of themselves that should be either underground or up in the canopy. Trunks and bare branches are blackish green from the constantly damp air and they create striking, complex and twisted silhouettes against the relatively simple grey of the sky. The sun still exerts its ferocity in the shards of radiance it sends between the shapes, tempting you to step into the beams of light as if they are portals to a better world.
A pine cone falls from its parent and drops right beside us. Maverick picks it up and runs with it in his mouth like an accomplished sportsman continuing the game. My attention is caught by something to hold too. A bright white quartz stone glowing against the mud. I carry its cold ergonomic form tightly in my hand for a while. Its brilliance wasn’t designed and I imagine the force that created it and the ages it has existed, letting that thread of a thought fasten me to the forest even more firmly.
Keeping its promise, the shortest day brought in the stormy clouds fast, dropping the temperature of the mild air and whipping it between the tall straight pines. It’s time to go now, the dark is coming but from tomorrow the light will very slightly move back into the evenings by one more minute each day.