Hope Begins with the Morning

Winter solstice. The shortest day. The longest year. One filled with levels of uncertainty and darkness we never saw coming. As we approach the close of 2020, I’m reflecting as I usually do at year’s end, but this time I’m not making plans. I’m enjoying the pause, the quiet, the stillness. Reflecting on the beauty of life, the grandness of the darkness, and the light that rises from it.

Beginning tomorrow, the days get longer, each one filled with a little more light. Hope begins with the morning, but the hustle is not required. And I think that is one of the things that has settled most with me, as our world so drastically changed this year.

The hurry, the frenetic pace, the culture of busy, and the pressure to do more, be more, and have more. This doesn’t serve me, and a global pandemic forced me to fully let go of the notion that busyness is best. There’s something so redeeming in the stillness. And when you let go of it all, and allow yourself the slowness and the pause, the silence loses any heaviness, and comforts you like fuzzy blanket on this winter’s night.

Hope without hustle. This is where peace is revealed, and contentment is found. Right in the middle. And it is an encouraging space I didn’t know I needed, and didn’t know could be found.

I’ll be relishing in the rest. Taking in the darkness, and enjoying each morning’s lightness. I’ll carry these lessons into the new year, and try my best to hold them close, keeping them precious, and knowing they are the foundation of joy, fulfillment, and wholeness.