...Sunset on the shortest day of the year in the Driftless

The coming of spring is a natural celebration, but I love the bravery of winter solstice because it represents hope with very little actual evidence to back it up.  Yes, the days are minutely longer, but the return of warmth and the growing season is still far away.

I get my share of e-cards urging me to keep Christ in Christmas.  I would like to reply, let’s keep the sol in solstice.  The sun is telling us that  tiny, almost imperceptible steps forward can add up to a huge difference.

As for that other holiday, anything we can do to dial down “traditional” Christmas practices that have morphed into a consumer frenzy of over eating, over drinking, and deluging our loved ones with things they may not even want or need has got to be good.

..Fall gives way to deep winter

Solstice is a peaceful celebration.  A little leap of faith that things will warm up.  Crops will grow again.  Life will persist.

So, let’s light the Yule logs, and some candles.  Let’s share some favorite foods with friends.  Let’s deck the halls with boughs of holly, evergreens and the Druidic holiday colors or red, green and white.

Let’s take our cue from the sun and renew our hope that we each can make some small, incremental change for the better in the year to come.

Three cheers for baby steps.

They can take us a long way.

..Message of hope written in rodent tracks on a parchment of snow