Where did the year go? In a few days time it will be the solstice – longest day shortest night in the southern hemisphere, and shortest day longest night in the northern hemisphere.

on the same day as Hanukkah – the festival of lights –

and a few days after that, it’s Christmas, the miracle birth of Jesus –

and then it’s the new year –

I’ve deliberately chosen images that have no messages on them but they all show ‘light’ in one form or another.

But I do have some quotes relating to this time of year with the word ‘light’:

           ‘Both the Winter and the Summer Solstices are expressions of love. They show us the opposition of light and dark, expansion and contraction, that characterise our experiences in the Earth school so that we can recognise our options as we move through our lives’. Gary Zukav

“A candle is a small thing. But one candle can light another. And see how its own light increases, as a candle gives its flame to the other. You are such a light.” — Moshe Davis

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.  Psalm119:105 

People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

All my good wishes are with you all as we approach the end of 2019 and enter into 2020. May 2020 bring you plenty plenty – good health, peace, joy, respite, renewal, creativity.  As we navigate from 2019 which has been pretty tumultuous on all fronts, all around the world, may we find our centre from which everything stems.
Thank you for reading and may the Force be with you.

46 Comments on Towards the end of the year

  1. Susan, I like how each of your photos show “light.” The first one is very intriguing. I am not sure what it is? I have always liked Zukav. If this is the same Zukav “Seat of the Soul” changed my life many years ago. The quotes you have chosen are perfect, Susan. Thank you for helping me find my centre.

    • Thanks Erica – yes Gary Zukav influenced me too many years ago. I must see if I can find any of his in my bookshelves. Seat of the Soul – Thomas Moore? Or was that Care of the Soul …

      That first quote illustrates the opposite forces that operate in our lives – light:dark, creation:destruction; love:indifference; masculine:feminine; joy:sorrow, heaven:hell etc – although they appear to be opposites they are not exclusive to each other. I see my task in life is not to be fixated on either extreme but in some way to unite the opposites – and to find one’s own centre –

  2. Thank you for all the light and positive energy you send out to all of us, Susan.
    May 2020 be our best year yet. Wishing you health and happiness near your loved ones.
    Hugs,
    Silvia.

    • Thanks Silvia for coming by 🙂 All best wishes to you and family too – may 2020 be a year of plenty plenty good health, joy, prosperity, creativity xx

  3. A beautiful post, shining light on the world, as you do, Susan.
    Thank you for your amazing support and friendship throughout the year. I look forward to reading more of your inspirational posts next year.
    May 2020 bring you much joy, peace and love, and may you continue to shine light on the world.

    • Thank you Norah so much – all those lovely wishes from you, I send to you too. And may you continue the extremely valuable work you do so well, encouraging our young ones, parents and educators to read, beginning in the early years with all manner of creative ways to help and make this meaningful task fun, absorbing, stimulating and so worthwhile. Happy 2020 🙂

  4. Thank you for inspiriting quotes and Blessed Solstice to you–and now, on 12/29, better to wish you a Blessed New Year. It’s been a harrowing year. I pray for Peace in this wild world and I’m grateful for the Peace I find on my land and some days in me.

    • Thanks Elaine for coming by – all best wishes for 2020, will it be a turning point I wonder … may peace continue to be yours and on your soil. And the turning now of the earth towards more light in your neck of the woods ..

      • Ps sorry about the mikdog gravitar .. it happens sometimes when I use my iPad or phone. It belongs to son Mike who hosts this site 🙂

  5. Wishing you wellness, harmony and happiness Susan, nice to read your sweet and small post, Happy Christmas to You and your family members:) May this New your brighten up your spirit and give your all what you have ever hoped for:) Love and hugs:)

    PS. leaving out of town with family today – my christmas will be at a shrine in Tamilnadu, Our Lady of Health Basilica, called the Velankanni Church, David is a Marian devotee and so we are taking a break at the church and a beach.

    • So lovely to receive your comment Genevive thank you. All best wishes for Christmas and a wonderful 2020 filled with joy peace and good health for you and family. Your break sounds wonderful, may you find the renewal in your shrine. Love, Susan

  7. You do a great job of honoring many different traditions, but I’m focusing on your theme of light here. Christians are called to shine our lights, which are especially apparent during a dark season.

    Your quotes are well chosen. I especially like the one by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

    Merry Christmas and a Happy 2020 filled with light and truth, Susan!

    • Thanks Marian, yes light is especially important in dark times. Lord knows it is needed. The Elizabeth Kubler-Ross quote is really relevant (as are all of them).

      Have a wonderful & blessed Christmas Marian and may 2020 be a year of plenty plenty for you and family .. 🙂

  10. Susan;
    It is also the end of a decade and beginning of a new decade. 10 years is a long time and can be very exciting. Light and dark are so a part of nature and up to use to unite the two and come up with a surprise.

    • That’s an encouraging way of looking at it Susan, thank you very much! The difficulty of course is in uniting them but it is not impossible.

  11. Ah, the Force–we saw “The Rise of Skywalker” last night. A good finale to the series! For the solstice a local writing event (monthly) will be at coffee shop (happily named the Tranquil Buzz) tomorrow. I’ll include that poem re Death in the Kitchen and some wintry stuff. Delightful inclusions in your celebratory post. 🙂

  13. Thank you so much Susan for your beautiful message and for sharing all those wonderful quotes above. Oh my Goddess, how this poet’s heart leapt for joy *swoon* when she read, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm119:105

    The beautiful spell of the Winter Solstice is almost upon us. Winter may be the darkest time of the year, but it is in darkness that spirits shine brightest. Sending love and light across the oceans between us. Warm & wild Solstice blessings, Deborah.

    • The quotes are lovely I’m glad you agree Deborah. The darkness is so necessary for so many reasons, if only that the light can be discerned both within and without. We can each be a candle for others, and for ‘the other’ …

      The wheel turns, so well signposted by months and seasons, light and dark, shadows and clarity – marks and impressions upon the land and in our hearts. At other times it seems to move so slowly …

      I look forward to your post for January – I know that it will be as a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

      A blessed Christmas to you and yours Deborah. Wild blessings from across the oceans.

  14. Thank you for the beautiful message Susan – many blessings for a Holy Christmas and a transformational 2020..lots of love prem

    • Thanks Prem – all good wishes to you and blessings for ‘…a Holy Christmas and a transformational 2020 …’ . Lovely message thank you, and the same to you, with love.

  16. Lovely wishes and pictures, Susan. My best to you this holiday season. We all seem to be facing challenging times. I hope the New Year brings lots of good.

    • Thanks Jacqui for coming by and your good wishes. My best to you and family. Yes, challenging times indeed – let’s hope that 2020 ushers in better things in all ways.

  17. Dear Susan – have a blessed festive time, with lots of positivity to lighten all lives. Take care and look forward to seeing you in 2020 – we need to be strong next year and look on the bright side. Cheers Hilary

    • That lovely old song, look on the bright side of life. You too have a blessed Christmas season with much festivity. See you in 2020. All best, Susan

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