the sun stands still

I have always wanted to see the sunrise in Newgrange on the morning of the winter solstice.  One of my new loves is listening to the radio as TV is far too boring for me now, apart for the good wife and my truly insane addiction to American Pickers.  I listened to a programme on the birth of Christ and the historical origins of Christmas, in particular the solstice.  The ancient Irish believed that the sun stood still on the winter solstice.  This  is the point in the year where the tilt of the earth is furthest away for the sun and the point at which it tilts back. The ancients thought that it stood still and the sun and moon were important for them to plot the year, when to sow crops etc.

I was fascinated to hear that they believed that the sun stood still and have always been fascinated by the construction of the mound and the setting out of the passageway.   People have always been in tune with their surroundings and each year I count the days to the winter solstice as it means that my gloomy mood will soon lift with the brighter mornings.  This year I worked with the idea that the winter would not affect me like it usually does but despite my efforts it did.  I finally tuned into the reasons and hopefully next year will be different.  The plan is to spend a significant part of my day outside during the winter,  My new job in January will allow me to do that.   I discovered that I need light to flourish in the winter and I need to feel the weather, particularly the wind in winter.  We can easily fall out of tune with life if we fall out of tune with our environment.  I love to follow the tides and the cycles of the moon, the seasons and the changes of nature.

We all have dreams that we think are too fanciful to fulfill, places we would like to visit, things we would like to experience.  Yet we find ways of not doing them.  I discovered that I still hold many limiting beliefs and find reasons why I cant do things rather than ways to do them.  Today I will apply to visit the passage tomb for the solstice. The access is decide by lottery, but to quote the many sayings about the lottery, if you're not in you cant win and It could be you.  So instead of thinking I cant , it wont happen, it wont be me, its time to reconnect with the magic of luck and just try anyway.

Happy Christmas, Saturnia, Hanuka, Davali or what ever post solstice winter ritual you engage in.  :-)