Sunday December 21st is the shortest, darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Headlines and social media posts seem to be mirroring the darkness. Chaos and cruelty appear to be winning these days.

In the spirit of Solstice, and most of the December holidays, even as darkness threatens, I invite each and every one of us to make a deliberate choice to invite the Light in. Over and over. (Yes, Light with a capital “L”)

To call in the Light to yourself is an act that recognizes the sacredness of your life. And your human right to experience joy. And to see that same sacredness and right to joy in those around you is both a hopeful and defiant act these days.

And if the Light feels far away or inaccessible, consider these words from artist, writer, and ordained minister Jan Richardson, in her poem How the Light comes:

I cannot tell you
how the light comes.

What I know
is that it is more ancient
than imagining.

That it travels
across an astounding expanse
to reach us.

That it loves
searching out
what is hidden,
what is lost,
what is forgotten
or in peril
or in pain.

That it has a fondness
for the body,
for finding its way
toward flesh,
for tracing the edges
of form,
for shining forth
through the eye,
the hand,
the heart.

I cannot tell you
how the light comes,
but that it does.
That it will.

(Click here to read the full poem on Jan Richardson’s blog)

Thank you for sharing your light with the world. I look forward to walking with you in 2026.  Click here to join the Climate of Joy community, if you aren’t already part of it.

Christine