Dear Friends,

The days are darkening further, a time to turn inward to reflection and quiet, a time of active waiting for the gifts of the darkness and the gifts of the coming light. Yule is next week, the shortest day of the year on the Northern Hemisphere. And every day, the sun rises and the sun sets, regardless of the length of each period. Through quiet and contemplation, I discovered something important about my own perspective on the sun and most other things I observe. Something important, and obvious as all get out. If you are wiser than I, you already know. Below is a poem I wrote following my insight:

From across the river, I am watching the sun rising.

 

The sun is rising.

One perspective, with my eyes at the center.

My eyes, the windows to my head.

My head, full of the learning that places me,

Temporarily,

at the center of everything.

The sun rises before me.

 

The sun is not rising.

The earth is tipping toward the sun.

A perspective, with my body at the center.

My body, part of the earth.

Body that I am, rolling along with all that is earth.

My body is tipping toward the sun.

 

At the horizon, the edge of the land burns orange, burns pink, burns blue,

glowing like the embers in the furnace, in the firepit, in the hearth,

the scuds of indigo clouds like darker smoke.

The sky lightens, the room lightens, my body lightens,

And I wait for the flaming ball to lift at the land’s edge, filling my body with light.

 

I am falling into the sky.

 

May you rejoice in the sun’s light, however it appears to you, as you remember also that you are loved, you are worthy, you are welcome, and you are needed. May you feel it so, and may it be so.

 

Blessings and warm wishes, Rev. Rita