Summer Solstice- Longest day of the year here and also celebration of the return of the dark. Each year it marks a time for me to reflect on what is illuminated so clearly and also what is germinating in the dark.

The week before Solstice my heart was filled with joy and abundance and smells of the garden that were so rich they almost became visible. There was still chaos, hatred, oppression and suffering in the world and the richness of the resilience and beauty around opened my heart even further for compassion and connection. Nature reminds me that gratitude goes all the way down and back to the beginning, the Source. Through gratitude for the resilience and beauty of life around me I can open my heart to acknowledge all of the suffering and the action called forth to restore balance and beauty and be nourished along the way.

In gratitude the darkness becomes the fecund seat of possibility. There are all kinds of creepy things that can grow in the shadows. Deep darkness can also be infused with gratitude as the ground for germinating the seeds of beauty and balance. Centering my gratitude on this day to the womb of darkness is akin to tending to the garden of possibility while also commanding the shadows/demons into service for resilience beauty and balance. Blessed be this day.