Greeting the newborn sun...

I live in Northeast Ohio and for most of my life, I have lived here. We do not get a lot of sunny days up here. We get a lot of cloudy days, a lot of rainy days, a lot of snowy days, usually all three in one day. Our days of full sunshine are precious and fleeting. I have a severe Vitamin D deficiency, when it was discovered, various medical professionals assured me that most people who live where I do have at least a slight deficiency. We're a hardy folk up here but apparently we suffer from lack of sunlight. I remember an aunt telling me after she'd moved south that everyone was happier there, that moods always seemed lighter, and she attributed this phenomena to the difference in the amount of sunlight between the two places.

Even before I realized my spiritual leanings, I loved to be in nature, I loved to watch birds, especially hawks, I loved to walk in woods and find things. I loved to watch clouds and I loved the feel of the sun on my face. I remember being very young, not more than 8, it was spring,it was morning. I could smell the scent of lilacs in the warming day, I looked up at the sky and I closed my eyes relishing the light on my face. I thought about the sun and the things I had learned in science class about the sun. I was afraid that a day would come where there was no sun and then at the same moment that the thought surfaced, I quashed it with the counter thought that it was here now and I was going to enjoy it. It seems like such an insignificant memory from an outside perspective but its a very poignant memory in my mind. I like to revisit those moments of peace. Sunlight normally evokes peace in my memories, lazy days of summer, trips to parks, late nights, camping. All of those memories outlined by sunlight.

With Yule on the horizon, pagans in our hemisphere are looking forward to the longest night of the year and the return of the sun the next morning.  I look forward to greeting the newborn sun and giving thanks for his return. I will strive to be mindful of the gifts the sun brings, and savor every fleeting moment of unobstructed sunlight, partial sunlight, and peeks at the sun we are gifted here in Northeast Ohio.

Happy Yule!

What in the world?

I've been agonizing for an inane amount of time about what kind of layout and header to have for my blog. I've agonized so much, that I have not written a single word for this blog, despite the massive number of posts stuck in my head.

So why this picture? I wanted something artsy. I wanted something that included a soapbox to go along with the name of the blog. This picture is none of those things. What we have here is a picture of my cat Sebastian with his head stuck in a box. Sebastian was just wandering around acting like it was completely normal to have your head stuck in a box, he wasn't worried, he wasn't stressing. Right after I snapped the picture, he laid down to have a nap in his box.

What does this all have to do with this blog? Well, sometimes, instead of waiting for that perfect image you had in your mind, you work with what is presented to you. You use what you have and what makes you laugh.