More than a decade ago I was working on my Bachelor of Social Work. During that time I had the privilege of being mentored during my first practicum by an amazing woman. Not only was she one of the most compassionate, accepting woman I have run across in my years in a profession full of compassionate accepting people, she was also a self described Buddhist Witch.
I still am not entirely clear what that means. I have a hard time getting my head around it but I was, and continue to be, fascinated by it. She told me that her Buddhist practice was about centering herself and working towards enlightenment. She modestly believed that she had a long way to go on both fronts. Her Wiccan practice was about honouring the earth, and celebrating the power within nature and the power within us all. These are lessons I believe are good for all of us regardless of how we practice our faith.
I like to consider myself a realist. I am not pessimistic about the world. I don’t believe the world is out to get me, that evil surrounds us or that the life is about putting in time until we die. I think we can be so much more than that. I believe in the power of choice and of humanity.
I also am not an optimist. I don’t think you can do the work I do and believe wholeheartedly that everything will always work out. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Sometimes no matter how hard you work, how much you love and how you hard you try things can fall apart. I believe that you can’t control life but can chose how you will react to it.
For me, winter solstice is a metaphor for my view of the world. There is a realistic tone to it. It is the darkest and longest night. It signals the beginning of the coldest season of the year. That is terrifying given how cold Fall has already been. It also symbolizes change. The sun will begin its return tomorrow. Slowly the shear power of its heat will start to warm the earth and begin to provide for us again. Longer days are coming, slowly but undeniably. For me it is a night of hope. This is reason to celebrate.
So at Winter Solstice I celebrate quietly. Every year I mark the day in my mind with the knowledge that no matter how cold the winter will get that eventually it will pass. All I have to do is wait. I can’t fight it, or avoid it forever so I might as well embrace what the winter has to offer. Like life, the winter will eventually change for the better or worse.
Today and tonight I will often find myself imagining a Buddhist witch dancing under the moon. It always makes me smile.