Ok, you may have missed it, but today was the Summer Solstice, or what some people refer to as "the first day of summer." Growing up, I always wondered why people thought summer started in June. By then it was ridiculously hot (growing up in Richland Washington, which is in the desert), and school was already out, so hey, it didn't make much sense to me. (and still doesn't, but what the heck!)
So why mention it at all? Well, I'm not going all mystical on you, although there's certainly enough history to warrant it. But for me the Solstices and the Equinox are just reminders of our place in the universe as we race around the sun.
For those of you completely unaware, today is the day the North pole points the closest to the sun. It gives those of us in the Northern Hemisphere our longest day. It's a solid day of sunlight near the pole. Down in Richland, it's nearly seventeen hours. Certainly something to celebrate for our ancestors who had only crude lamps at best to beat back the night. Sunlight brings life, crops grow, animals bring forth their young, and the world is warm and wonderful.
Yet I can't help but feel a twinge of foreboding on this day. It irrefutably marks the beginning of the end of summer. For even though the hottest days are surely before us, the days will get no longer, and now we begin the slow march to winter as the planetary axis tilts away from our star.
Do you think we should worship this day like people have done for many thousands of years? Or should we fear it and feel ashamed to notice because the revealed machinery of the universe is surely something the western god doesn't encourage us to understand? No. No to both questions. Things are how they are. This day isn't about some mystical super being(s). It's a special day, but a day nonetheless.
What the hell's my point? That days like this, when the awesome power of the universe manifests itself to all who are intelligent enough to pay heed, are times for wise people to pause and take stock. Notice your life and appreciate how good it is. Plan for the coming cold, even while gladly enduring summer's heat. Gather with friends and family and toast those not present. Thank all who have come before us for making this moment possible for us. For whether or not we are here to see the next solstice or not, mother Earth will still spin majestically on her axis in a perfect ellipse around the sun. And these are all things that I take comfort in.
Good day to you!
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