Dear, Rooted and Rock-Steady Children of the Earth,
Summer Solstice is here! The Pagan holiday of Litha is being celebrated! It's the magical "Mid-Summer's Night" when the days are long, slow and full of an abundance of Sun. Nights are warm and full of breezes and Moonlight. This is a time for all of us to remember the Earth, our Bodies, and the joy of stretching out.
As long as there have been humans, Summertime has been the time to kick back and let the living be easy. There's time to get done what you need to do and still have time left over. It's the season of celebrations, feasting, campfires, music in the park, hanging out, visiting with friend & family. We all feel the pull of Summer to get outside and enjoy the fruits of the Earth.
The Summer Solstice takes place when the Sun enters the sign of Cancer. In the language of Astrology, Cancer is the part of us that knows how to give care, to nurture and to help other beings thrive. The Sun represents the life force, the part of us that is growing and changing. The Sun entering Cancer is the time when Mother Nature teaches us how to care for Life... abundantly, actively and with a joyous Light.
We've all been given Life to care for: Our own lives and the people & critters & places we love. Sometimes we feel exhausted by all the caretaking we do. This Solstice, find a piece of earth or grass or sand or park bench or a ray of sunlight to relax into and notice the abundance of what's being being gifted to you.
And, if you want to, you can perform the most basic Ritual of all: simply take a deep breath and as you exhale, offer a "Thank You" to Life.
Namaste, all you beings of Light,
May this Solstice open you like a flower,
Mary
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Kindness
by Naomi Shihab Ney
Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.
Before you earn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the tread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere|
like a shadow or a friend.
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Please click on these sites for more information about the Solstice and the Poet!
https://www.learnreligions.com/history-of-summer-solstice-holiday-litha-2562244
https://www.learnreligions.com/litha-rites-and-rituals-2561483