Jack Kornfield on the Sacred Pause of Winter and Embracing Stillness

The Sacred Meaning of Winter Solstice

• ❄️ The winter solstice represents a sacred pause, a moment of stillness in the turning of the year, especially potent in the fertile darkness from which new life emerges.
• 💡 In a culture often lacking in sacred rituals, the act of coming together to simply be still is presented as an extraordinary and valuable practice.
• ⏳ The solstice is a reminder of the mystery of the sun standing still before changing course, symbolizing a timeless pause.

Embracing Impermanence and Grief

• ⏳ Buddhist teachings emphasize that all things are impermanent, and we are not settled or permanent, a truth to awaken to.
• 💔 We carry the weight of both immense joys and profound sorrows, including the grief from mass shootings, wars, and divisiveness, alongside the suffering of distant crises.
• ✨ Yet, amidst suffering, there is also unbearable beauty, such as the sunrise, the birth of new babies, and the simple wonders of nature.

The Power of Stillness and Inner Work

• 🧘‍♀️ Practices like meditation, originally involving intense breathing and silence, help to find attention in a distracted world.
• 🧠 We carry the entirety of human experience within us, including birth, death, joy, sorrow, and even past lives, as articulated by Whitman's idea that we contain multitudes.
• 💖 Practices like gazing into another's eyes can evoke love, compassion, joy, and peace, revealing shared humanity and past connections.

Acts of Kindness and Remembering What Matters

• 🌟 The question, "Who would you call? What would you say? And why are you waiting?" encourages us to speak from a place of tenderness, love, and mercy.
• 🎁 Small acts of goodness, like a father helping a family in need on Christmas morning, are deeply memorable and gladden the heart.
• 🌱 Even in times of global crisis, there are counterbalancing acts of staggering generosity and beauty happening on a breathtaking scale, urging us not to drown in fatalism.

Rebirth and the Eyes of Wonder

• 🔄 The concept of rebirth is evident daily in the constant renewal of our bodies, with billions of new blood cells and skin cells being created.
• 🌳 Life's persistent drive to continue is seen in nature's ability to rebuild after destruction, demonstrating that life does not want to stop.
• 🌟 The solstice invites us to stop, listen, and see with the eyes of wonder, recognizing the astonishing nature of existence and the heart's natural response of tenderness and mercy.