Blog Guelph: Soulstice

Burning leaf, a photo by Amy Bailey on Flickr.

We are at the brink of the darkest day of the year. I don't know about everyone else, but I've felt like I was at the bottom of a deep well lately- and constantly looking up, trying to see the sky. Trying to find the light.

And although I've had specific things go wrong lately, it's been just a general sense of stress over the larger meaning of things in life that has caused me mostly to feel this way. I wonder about the big picture, the future... I feel sensitive and bone raw.

And weirdly, I think it's partly about being connected actually. Connected to a larger celestial world.

The solstice is a time when the dark hours outnumber the light. It's an occasion that pushes us towards introspection. It's important. We need time to think about our choices in life, to make sure they were the right ones.

But even as we reach towards the longest night, I think we reach towards the greatest depth. It is something to embrace. It is part of our humanity.

Tomorrow at 8pm, Macdonald Stewart Art Centre will host what I think is one of the most beautiful, inspiring, and passionate events that I've ever witnessed. I am so honoured to be a part of the SOLSTICE: Songs for a Winter's Eve artists. I hope you can come.

Deep in that dark well, it has brought me back to the light.

To soulstice.

~ Aidan M.D. Ware