I received word this morning that my ex died. Not unexpected, though so very sad. And of note, he was in my dream before I awoke this morning. The time frames were all jumbled up, but in the dream he was leaving and I was trying to convince him to stay.

This has been a season of loss for myself and several friends. I am thinking about the balance between light and dark as we move towards Solstice. This evening, a group of women will gather at my house to mark the Solstice (actual date is Friday) with a candlelight meeting, something we’ve done for 14 years now. I appreciate tradition, and ritual – taking a moment outside our daily routines to connect with our spiritual source, however we identify that.

As a Libra, I am drawn to the idea of balance. Notice that I say idea, as I’m realizing that actual balance is fleeting. Except on the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox, nature is always in flux – the shifting from dark to light and back again, from blooming to decay. I think life is like that too. There have been times in my life that felt very dark, but even then, there was hope and positivity. Same with times of light – life is life, so there is always a bit of the darkness even in the brightest of days. As the old song says, you have to take the bitter with the sweet. Yin and yang, positive and negative... the energies interconnect. One couldn't exist without the other.  

In our Solstice meeting, we usually share about the year that is passing, noting what we hope to let go of, or what it is we hope to embrace as the calendar turns. Overall, it has been a good year – time with friends and family, time in nature, our stellar grade school reunion – and there has been loss, because that is what happens. Ups and downs, light and dark. I do believe that there is a randomness to what we experience. I can contribute to my health by not smoking, for example, and trying to drive defensively, but I am not in charge of my time to go, or anyone else’s. I honor those gone, and consciously shift my perspective to gratitude for the time we did share together. I'll need to think about what I want to manifest and invite in for 2019. I would love to let go of my sense of time urgency, my need to control when I'm off kilter - nothing new there, but perhaps a new perspective given these recent losses. If not now, when?

As we move into winter, and the daylight returns, however incrementally, what is it that you want to leave in 2018? What is it that you hope to bring forth in 2019?