5 Things to Tell You // Winter Solstice

A list of happy things & a blessing for you!

You get a bonus post this week because it’s the Solstice, and I won’t be back online until the New Year! Here is the winter edition of my quarterly list of favorite things. Cheers to you & yours, see you in 2024!

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1. JOY Playlist // Here is the playlist my kids made this week and I hope you find some small joys to carry you through the next few days of gathering and cooking and merry-making. My favorite song on the list is Jacob Collier’s newest release Witness Me featuring one of my other favorites - Kirk Franklin!! Go gently, friends.
   

2. The Muppets Christmas Carol // I can’t wait to re-watch this classic sometime in the next week. I’ll sing along and impress embarrass my kids! This essay says it perfectly.

   Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned From The Muppets

3. The Dark is Rising // This radio adaptation of the classic book by Susan Cooper is a perfect thing to cozy up to on a midwinter night. It’s a little bit spooky and a little bit magic and the book is set on the first day of midwinter so start listening tonight! I also loved this roundup of *snowy* picture books and she mentions the series and it’s perfect sound effect of walking through crunchy snow!

   Snow Day

4. Tonglen Meditation // This meditation has been very grounding for me over the past few weeks and I look forward to continuing it through the holidays. There is a lovely description of it at the link. I’ve also been enjoying this simple yoga practice that

   Sophia Le
   recommended this week. I highly recommend putting on a cozy hoodie and setting your mat up by the Christmas tree/menorah/fireplace!

5. Auld Lang Syne // One of my favorite books of 2023 was the Anthropocene Reviewed by my fave: John Green. This podcast version of one my favorite essays is one I go back to every Christmas. It is part history of the poem/song by Robert Burns, and part tender eulogy to a friend. It is classic John Green - all longing and love.

A mid-winter marsh.

As you read this blessing, imagine standing in the dusky dark - deepening purples and wintery blues - with a chilly wind blowing from the north. Feel the cold, frozen earth beneath your feet: May this longest night bring a reminder that darkness needn’t be scary. The dark can be a cocooning, a dream-space, a holding. Be held and trust that peace can be found here too, in the deep dark.