The winter solstice will take place on Tuesday, December 21 this year, and it is a perfect time to stop and take stock of the connection we share with each other and the natural world. Leading to the winter solstice, the days get shorter and the nights, longer. The 21st day of December is the last date on which days shorten. The following day, there begins to be more light, and this will continue until the summer solstice in June.
For postal workers it is a time of high volumes and hard work as we connect the country. Given the work we do and high injury rates, we become the fallout of the drive for improved production and growth. Our society is built on winners and losers. We tempt fate and our very survival in our world of finite resources.
On solstice, with open hearts and minds we can learn from Indigenous peoples the significance and power of this day. Chippewa-Cree Sarah Sunshine Manning sees the acknowledgement of this day as a “decolonial act” and an opportunity to “reconnect to the natural world, sharpen our senses and access our most powerful selves”.
It is a time to reflect on the past year, to go within ourselves to check on how we truly feel, and to give gratitude to the Earth. It is a time to honour Nature with a ritual that allows for gratitude and thankfulness. Communing with family, friends and community nurtures us.