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Bowled over by the Solstice
The Winter Solstice is upon us and I for one am feeling the full glorious weight of it.
Climate change sees me sitting in my office on a sunny December 21 afternoon with the window wide open, the new Cars album cranked on the stereo, and a head full of gratitude and heart full of love.
The good old Christmas spirit has arrived right on time – just when the day is the shortest, when the light is the lowest and winter is ready to shift into gear.
I just spoke with my daughter who is flying west to visit us for Christmas and the realization that I am going to see my little girl for the first time in about a year and a half has me by the throat and it is shaking the living crap out of any notion of a bad mood.
The love of my life just returned to work, but we have a few days together starting this evening and that in itself is enough to crank the facial muscles on an upward arch.
So what better time can there be to write a ‘Christmas’ column?
Yes, Christmas is almost here.
Seems just a few moments ago that we were embarking down a new channel in the river of life aboard the cyber-canoe E-KNOW. That’s what happens when you’re madly paddling away – you miss so much of what passes and before you know it, a significant point in time arrives to herald a standing point, where you halt and take it all in. Hopefully your personal standing point doesn’t arrive with water gushing over your proverbial gunnels, dear reader.
May you be able to find that crystal clear moment where your heart and soul is pierced by that powerful pulse of life and love emanating from the core of all that is dear and special to you. May the spirit of the season find you, especially if you are struggling to give a shit or are having a hard time seeing the point in anything.
When the spirit is alive, mankind is a beautiful thing.
Our world continues to suffer from countless woes and tragedy stalks everyone. But human will surpasses all, when hearts and souls are engaged and are seeing things with honest crystal clarity. When we find the moment where we can separate ourselves from the everyday and the mundane and worrisome, and just focus on what really matters, and who really matters, the world’s problems fade to black and warm light wraps us in its luxurious glow.
The Winter Solstice is just another day; as is Christmas. Still, they sit before us like Mars and Venus in the sky. Most people circle the days on their calendars and plan for them for months and months, or in my case, for hours and hours on the 23rd and 24th. We become so wrapped up in what we’re going to wrap up that the true meanings of the days get knocked to the backs of our minds. The hectic days of a northman, scurrying to batten down the hatches against winter’s ruthless onslaught, can blur our focus on what truly matters.
May you see things clearly. May the power of the Solstice bolster your resolve with the added light of each new day. May this upcoming year unfold as it should, as you wish it to be. It will, if you let it.
Carrie and I are looking forward to 2012. For starters, I can’t wait for Dec. 21 next year! What sayeth you Mayan ghosts?
Mostly what we’re looking forward to is continuing to paddle this wee online newspaper forward, finding more places to stop and take it all in. It’s been an awesome trek so far.
I am finding that my previous perceptions of the East Kootenay, formed from living up in the Columbia Valley and from covering the Regional District of East Kootenay for almost two decades, were spot on. This region is vitally and intricately linked together – the Elk Valley, Columbia Valley and Cranbrook/Kimberley areas have so much in common and work together so well. The more I get around the region and the more people I meet, the clearer things become to me: the folks in this region are the salt of the Earth and are truly incredible souls.
In the slightly larger picture, how lucky are we to have such wicked neighbours as our Central Kootenay brothers and sisters? How lucky are we to have the wild and wooly Albertans just to our east, who pour much-needed economic jam into our region? And how freaking great is that we have Montana and Idaho just to our south?
We live in paradise. I can see that… again. It flew right up, hidden behind a freakishly warm Dec. 21 breeze, through my window and into my soul, just a few moments ago. Whap! Ahhh…
May you see it, too.
To all our readers, to all our contacts, sources, advertisers, supporters and contributors – may the enormous power of the Solstice bless you with a visit, and to all, Merry Christmas.
Ian Cobb/e-KNOW
