Wabi-Sabi, the Japanese aesthetic that honors the unfinished, the weathered, and the naturally evolving, reminds us that there is profound freedom in accepting what is on the way to what will be quietly
forming in the unseen.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is here, with her long nights and cool breath. I feel her invitation to slow down like the trees. Lately, I’ve been lighting candles in the early evenings, choosing meditative music that slows my heartbeat, and letting myself sink into stillness whenever I can. These small, simple rituals help me weave warmth, intentional light, and a sense of inner sanctuary into my days — a counterpoint to the cold and dark and concerning world outside.
As the year draws to a close, I’m reflecting on what 2025 has held. Not in a hurried or evaluative way, but in that Wabi-Sabi spirit of meeting life as it truly has been, in its perfect imperfection. I imagine gathering up the whole year — its beauty, its challenges, its heartbreaks, its unexpected joys — and wrapping it in a big red-and-gold bow of gratitude.
Gratitude for all the love shared and received.
Gratitude for the learning and growth that came out of difficulty.
Gratitude for every moment we tried to show up for one another
and for our world.
This is the space I find myself in as I approach Winter Solstice, December 21st, the first official day of winter that heralds the gradual return of light. It offers a beautiful opportunity to reflect upon our year and the natural completion of a year cycle. It invites us inward, into the quiet where we can witness our becoming with compassion, clarity, and tenderness.
I welcome this day of honoring, softening, and accepting the perfectly ever becoming nature of creation and my human incarnation. Perhaps you’d like to join me?
Inspired by this great Cosmic rhythm — and by my mentor, Luisah Teish’s teaching of the many layers of the soul (physical, emotional, mental, ancestral, ecological, social/political, and spiritual) — I offer a simple Winter Solstice end-of-year ritual as inspiration for your Solstice year-end reflection and passage.
Here’s how to prepare before starting the video.
- Make sure you have at least 15 minutes for this guided process and it’s after sunset.
- Find a comfortable warm place to sit with a candle, lighter, and pen and paper ready.
- Before you settle in, turn out the lights so you can sit in darkness as much as possible.