Shelby Anderson on our team reminded me of the winter solstice as it has become an annual tradition for her to to bake with her nieces and nephews on that date.

The winter solstice was this week and it marks the beginning of a new season. It is the shortest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere - measured by the least amount of daylight. The word “solstice” means sun standing still. That is exactly what appears to happen from our perspective on earth as the sun reaches its lowest point relative to the equator before it starts moving back in the other direction. The winter solstice has historically sparked gatherings among loved ones and celebrations of rebirth and the return to light. It’s even been found that holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah originated from ancient religious festivals celebrating the winter solstice with feasts and gifts focused on gratitude for the coming future.

It got me thinking about the places in my life where I’m standing still. I think stillness is different from being stuck. When you are stuck, there are barriers holding you back or indecision that has set in. There is something powerful about stillness. Stillness is the ability to take in information without needing to make a knee jerk reaction. It’s staying calm under pressure. A still mind is focused, not chaotic. Even physical stillness can serve us. There are times when I find myself fidgeting, or bouncing my leg and when I catch myself, take a deep breath and relax, there is a sense of calm that comes over me and puts me in a better state of mind to tackle what’s next.

As the sun reaches its point of “stillness”, it’s an opportunity for us to be still as well. The changing of a season is a perfect time for us to transition in our lives. An opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been, be introspective about where we are now, and intentional about where we want to go. It also helps that it aligns with 2021 coming to an end. I know I have some reflection to do on what I’ve learned this year and what our team has been through at Footers.

I also believe that in order to put a plan together for where we want to go, we have to be clear on where we are now. Understanding our emotions, current state of mind, energy level and physical health gives us a greater chance to actually achieve our goals because we can keep them relative to where we are now. In order to manifest the life we want to live, we have to actually put a plan in place to get there. We can’t just set goals, we have to create action items for how we will accomplish those goals and stay on track.

As the days begin to get longer, I hope you’ll take some time to reflect on the past, be introspective about your current state and be intentional about this upcoming season and 2022 as a whole. I hope you’ll find some stillness in yourself so that just like the sun, your light begins to shine brighter and longer each day.