Winter Solstice: What is Nature Dreaming?

WISDOM OF THE WEEK:
Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are experiencing the longest night of winter this week.  The Earth has tilted as far as it will away from the sun and we feel all of nature taking its inward breath before the return of the light and the warmth it brings.

It’s a time of dreaming and listening to the messages nature has for us.  Like the surface of a frozen lake, everything appears still on the surface, but there is movement underneath.

Check out the video below to hear more:

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GETTING OUTSIDE:
Take a wander through nature this week with your journal in your pocket.  Sometimes our best thoughts come through as we are moving through the natural world.

Invite everyone to tune into the rhythm around them by asking a few questions:

1. What do you think the trees are doing right now?
2. What does the soil seem to be doing?
3. How do you think the birds around you are feeling?
4. Do the animals seem different now from when we see them in summer?

As you feel everyone tune deeper into the rhythm of nature, ask each other another few questions, such as:

1. What is most important to you in this world?
2. What do you see is your gift for your community?
3. Who or what would you most like to help this year?

Let the ideas flow and capture any important thoughts in your nature journals.

PLAY TIME:
This is our family’s beloved way to mark the solstice each year, by creating a small cave and lighting a candle there for the night.

When we are back inside and can see our candle glowing all night outside, it’s an important reminder that a single flame of light can dispel the darkness.

WINTER SOLSTICE CAVE
Supplies needed:  
Hurricane candle

Optional: Sun, Earth, and Animal figurines  (we made ours with some clay) and any other things that remind you of your appreciation for the sun.

1. Find a spot outside where you can create a small cave, either in the snow, with stones, or other materials on hand.

2. Place your candle in a safe spot at the opening to the cave.

3. Place any additional objects around the candle within the cave. (Little animals, shells, stones, or other things that remind you of the sun and the warmth it provides)

4. Light your candle together as the sun sets on the darkest night, and leave it lit until morning.  (Hopefully the sun really does return in the morning!)

5. When you head back inside for bed, be sure to look back out the window and notice the warm glow your single candle provides on the darkest of nights.

DAILY QUESTIONS:
(Choose one each day and either answer together around the meal table, or write about it in your family nature journal)
1. What are you most looking forward to this coming year?
2. What messages did you receive in your dreams this week?
3. How do you see yourself expressing your gifts for the world this year?
4. What surprised you most when you were tuning into the rhythm of nature during the Solstice?
5. What lessons can the animals teach us about being strong during the long dark nights of winter?
6. What ways can you support each other through these darker days?
7. What changes have you noticed in nature this week?

Click HERE to download the PDF version of this lesson