Happy Winter Solstice!

Today is the year’s shortest day, tonight its longest night. On this Midwinter day, we’ll explore the wisdom of the solstice and why and how many of our forebears celebrated the occasion. And, like them, we’ll use it as an opening into the winter holidays of giving gifts, shining light in the darkness, and preparing for a new year.

We’ll delve into the spirit of the season and its themes of light, giving, and renewal, with:

• The wisdom of the winter solstice and holidays, exploring the common threads in how we celebrate them, and using this time to reflect and consider our hopes and intentions for the new year 💡

• The final six of 12 most popular sessions from the Trauma Recovery Summit 🎁

• Updated 10 Tools for Healing and Growth guidebook, now including companion content for the 12 summit sessions 📚

• My #1 tool for setting and sticking to New Year’s (and new month’s) goals and intentions 🧰

• Good News links for holiday cheer and reflecting on the past year 🙌

Before we dive into the rich history of winter gifting and lights, the symbolism of the winter solstice, and its role in making way for a new year, I want to finish delivering on my gift to you—with the final 6 of 12 most popular summit sessions:

I also want to mention Virtual EMDR, a company making Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (one of the most scientifically proven techniques to treat trauma, anxiety, and depression) more accessible:

This is a great tool for handling hard times and for deep healing—and worth considering as something to explore in the new year!

The Why and Wisdom Behind Some of Our Most Enduring Winter Traditions and Holidays

The Winter Solstice has been celebrated by many cultures throughout history. It was akin to combining Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s all into one celebration. It was a time to:

• Celebrate the harvest and its abundance through communal feasts

• Give gifts and strengthen social bonds (and the safety net they can provide in lean times)

• Light candles and fires as a symbol of light’s triumph over darkness

• Decorate with evergreens, holly, and mistletoe, symbolizing life and resilience in the face of winter

• Reflect on the past year, letting go of old burdens and setting intentions for the coming year

On this longest day and night, we're reminded of the cycles of nature and the rhythm of life. This time of year, with its deep nights and chilly air, invites us to slow down, reflect, and renew. And, to share of what we have in what amounts we can.

The Meanings and Power of Gift-Giving

From the Christmas tradition of exchanging presents to the Hanukkah custom of giving gelt, Eid al-Fitr gifts in Islamic culture, Diwali gifts in Hindu culture, and the exchange of red envelopes during Chinese New Year, gift-giving has been a cherished practice across various cultures and religions. These traditions express the value of generosity, strengthen community bonds, and bring joy to people around the world.

It's not just about the material gifts we exchange but the love, thought, and intention behind them.

The act of giving enriches our connections with others and can bring joy to us. When our gifts come from a place of generosity and thoughtfulness, they can be a message to ourselves as much as to others: that we have enough, we are enough, and we have things to offer to those we care for.

So, give what you can, in the spirit of thoughtfulness and care, and let that be enough. Let that be an affirmation of your care for and value to others and an expression of gratitude for the connections in your life.

In that spirit, as we approach Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and more (and the New Year), I want to add one more small surprise to my gifts to you.

Facing The Dark and Accepting Lean Times

While we can find wisdom in and be uplifted by the rituals and milestones of the winter season, let’s be honest: it can be hard.

In fact, how our ancestors celebrated is rooted not only in abundant harvests and the promise of plentiful times in the new year. These rituals were also a response to the same hardships and same fears we have—of being alone, of not having enough, of not being enough.

Yes, our modern world and how we celebrate these holidays can hold unique stresses and challenges—gift and travel expenses, challenging family dynamics, and for many, loneliness and isolation. And some of us also struggle with a case of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) during these months.

I had my own experience with lulls and lean times of life recently.

Normally, I log the important habits in my daily routine (like morning meditation and spiritual practice, exercise, and more) in a habit tracker. Recently, life has been extra busy on top of holiday prep and my usual winter doldrums. After Thanksgiving, I started giving myself a pass on many of these habits, then lapsed for several weeks on logging my habits at all.

Sometimes, giving oneself a limited-time pass and being flexible in the face of extra demands and exceptional circumstances can be healthy. Sometimes, we need to make some wiggle room. But we need to know which things to loosen and which to hold to.

I usually meditate in the mornings. In recent years, I practice gratitude meditation at least every other day. While I do a variety of meditations, gratitude practice consistently helps boost my mood.

And, by letting myself out of my meditation habit, I wasn’t practicing healthy flexibility per se—I was opting out of one of the key things that would help me feel better.

And when I restarted the daily habit in earnest this week, as always, spending a little time focusing on the good things in my life that I’m grateful for, big or small, made an immediate difference.

By calling on my inner resources in the face of emotionally and energetically “lean” times, I was also enacting a lesson of the winter solstice and holiday season—that in the face of the dark and the cold, we can always shine our inner light, as long as we remember to how to find it and feed it.

Camus' words remind us that even in the dark and the cold, there is always inner strength waiting to be rediscovered. Sometimes, it even takes a brush with the darkness to find that light.

This 'invincible summer' within us is a source of hope and resilience. But how can we shine it?

Shining Light in the Darkness

Like our ancestors who faced the cold and dark by shining the lights inside and out during the winter season, we can do something about our fears and frailties. Even in the face of stress, loneliness, and worry, we can do like they did and respond by cultivating our outer and inner resources no matter how lacking we may feel.

How? Like me, you could try gratitude practice:

There are many ways to shine the light. This is one that works for me.

What works for you? Or what do you think might? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

This season, we're surrounded by symbols of light, from Christmas lights twinkling in the dark to candles glowing on Hanukkah menorahs. Light represents hope, purity, and the triumph of good over darkness.

And in turn, this creates helpful conditions for reflecting on the year and making plans and setting intentions for a new one.

Taking Time for Reflection and Renewal

The Winter Solstice is more than just a date on the calendar; it's a reminder of the resilience and renewal inherent in life and available to us always.

As we experience the longest night, it's just one potent opportunity to reflect on our journey over the past year and set intentions for the year ahead. It's a time to acknowledge our growth, our struggles, and the inner strength that carried us through.

The rest of the time before the New Year can also provide these opportunities, too. We can take advantage of it and the fresh beginning of a new year to think deeply about who we are and how we want to live. And we can start anew, slow and steady.

I hope you’ll consider whether the new-and-improved guidebook I shared above might help you in the process of reflection and of renewal! It might provide some ideas for highly impactful tools and practices you can bring into your life.

And in the spirit of slow and steady progress, I want to suggest one of the essential tools I use in my own process: a habit tracker!

As I shared above, I don’t manage to log my habits daily, nor of course complete all my intended habits each day. But it does help me remember the things I set out to work on and gauge how well I’m adopting a new habit or revising an existing one.

I’ll also follow up in January with some another resource to help you mindfully set intentions and take action on them in the new year.

In the meantime, enjoy some extra good news for the holidays and saying farewell to 2023:

Wishing you a Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!

Warmly,
Brandon

P.S. Did you find this edition interesting, useful, or uplifting? Please respond with your thoughts about the newsletter! I’d love to hear from you.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to check out Virtual EMDR. Whether you use their online program or work with a therapist in person, EMDR is one of the most proven treatment modalities for trauma, anxiety, and more. Don’t just take my word. Read about the experiences of others here*.

* Disclosure: this is an affiliate link, where I make a small commission if you sign up. But I would not share it if I was not a true believer!