Here we are! Despite the peculiarities of the weather (being hot too soon and cold when it shouldn’t and too dry or too wet at inconvenient times) and all the worries and deep concerns about the state of our planet, we have come through the winter into spring and then into summer.
Here we are at the Summer Solstice – the day of longest light when dusk only comes just before eleven o’clock in the evening and the nights are hardly truly dark at all. This day is the culmination of the past six months of struggle from the cold and dark into the lush green fecundity of a burgeoning natural world. It seems to have been quite a long hard slog.
This morning I can see cows and sheep grazing in green fields. Birds are singing more gently than a few weeks ago. The dark clouds of dawn are clearing away and sunshine is streaming from a blue sky over the mountains. Not a whisper of a breeze. All is still and peaceful. It is as if the world is holding it’s breath.
For this is the time of the Solstice which literally means ‘the sun stands still’. We are at the apex of the growing light, teetering on the edge of the darkness that we must surely now begin to slide back down into. But just for these few days – until the morning of the 25th June, in fact, when the daylight is once more measurably shorter – we can briefly sit back and relax, pause… and be still ourselves.
Take some time today – or in the next three days which come after it – to look around you. See all the wonderful riches and beauty of the world you live in… and feel gratitude, love and appreciation for it. Also take a little time to assess your own life… what have you achieved in this first six months of the year? What do you need to complete as the autumn approaches? What will be your harvest this year? Where are you up to in your life?
In these uncertain times, may we all enjoy the luxury of this Midsummer peace and stillness. Make the very most of it. Breath deeply and enjoy.
A very merry Midsummer to you all, with my love!
