Seeking Light in Winter Solstice

If you wonder what the deal is with winter solstice, Merriam-Webster Dictionary (the dictionary strongly recommended by my writer friend Efrem) defines it as “the point in the sky occupied by the sun on or about December 22d when winter begins in the northern hemisphere : the December solstice.”

I personally recognize the coming of winter solstice by how the dark of night creeps in earlier and lasts longer, way into what my body feels should be morning. I ask no one in particular, perhaps the air, “Why is it so dark?” Then I remember. Winter solstice is coming—on December 21^st, 2025, when it dons its other name, “the longest night of the year.”

Deeper Meaning

While most folk might first think of Stonehenge, Pagans, and Druids, loads of religious faiths around the world hold the winter solstice event as sacred and celebrate with festivals and/or religious services of some kind or another.

Most years I regard December as the best time to let go of things which are unnecessary, irrelevant, or no longer fit my life.

Seeking Light

I seek the light as my default, but I ramp it up during this time of darkness—keeping in mind “believing is seeing.”

Like most people, my year has had its ups and downs. Private self-reflection geared toward change, distraction, and resulting overwhelm have unsettled, and at times fueled my work. No surprise there. Yet, the states of health of family members, particularly my mother’s, has me in what my friend Sarah calls a grief walk I find numbing. I scan my life’s inner sky for light, for the “getting it” kind of understanding, and the treasure of compassion, for myself, for others, for the past, and future.

I find light. Lights. Many lights. Family, chosen family, friends, readers, and strangers—are each a lighthouse beacon shining and refracting their beautiful light through their own Fresnel lenses, their beams sweeping away darkness. These may manifest as smiles, humor, art, words, hugs, a meaningful glance, a friendly DM, a note card, and the tingling feeling we get just before a new understanding dawns—just in time for the new year.

This is what winter solstice feels like for me this year. How about you, dear meta-normal reader? How’s it been going for you? Comment here or privately DM me.

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Meta-Normal Readers

You—readers, listeners, reviewers (on Amazon, Good Reads, etc.), gifters and donors, book sellers, librarians, and those of you who request Andersen Light: A Meta-Normal Novel be carried at your library and/or bookstore—make a meta-normal difference Andersen Light’s success. Thank you for posting and sharing on your social media. Thank you for sending me photos of lighthouses for inspiration. Every act of today’s version of word-of-mouth, which may seem small to you, makes a huge difference. You make a meta-normal difference in this world, and I am grateful for you sharing and shining the light. I appreciate you.

Welcome to the Meta-Normal World of Andersen Light

Welcome to Andersen Lighthouse and Mystic Creek (fictional Oregon town) on behalf of myself and the entire cast of characters. Thank you, new and current meta-normal readers and listeners, for reading, listening, writing reviews, and sharing Andersen Light: A Meta-Normal Novel with your friends and family.

Let’s Connect! You’ll get exclusive content, plus hints and reveals about Book 2. DM me on Insty, Bluesky, or TikTok.

Learn more: See Lighthouse History, Preservation, and the other note pages at the end of Andersen Light: A Meta-Normal Novel.