For those of us residing in the northern hemisphere, today marks the darkest day of the year. The sun rose today at 7:13 AM and will set at 4:12 PM, affording us less than 9 hours of daylight. December is a month of anticipation as we await the Winter Solstice and its paradox of light and darkness. Over the past month, the deep blue and purple of late-afternoons transition almost immediately to pitch black skies before dinner is even served. 

During this season of waiting for the light to return, we draw inward - to ourselves, to our families, to our homes, and to those closest to us. We feel an intense desire to slow down even when the pace of work and school and appointments relentlessly pulls through each day at breakneck speed. We yearn for moments when we can push pause on the reel of life playing around us and just live in a moment, or two, where nothing else matters but sitting in pure relationship with others. 

We must seek out these pause-button moments in the midst of the busyness. How can we model for our children and our students what it means to slow down, to downshift, to prioritize relationships with others over relationships with things? 

A single candle can be seen at distances of over 1.5 miles by the unaided eye on a clear, moonless night. We have the opportunity to be that candle in the distance, to break the darkness, to shine our own little light in our corner of the world. We must remind ourselves that darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. It simply cannot. And so as we feel the natural light return to our days, we must make sure the metaphorical light in our lives is shared with others, as well. 

This season of darkness is ephemeral. We must cherish it as much as we do seasons of light. The sun will set a minute later tomorrow than it does today. Little by little, we will move from a season of inward reflection and slowness to a season of outward manifestation of the joy that lives in us. This is how we move from darkness to light. Incrementally. One step at a time. 

May this holiday season be one in which you experience, and share, light alongside those you love. Happy Holidays from all of us at Proctor!