Faithful Fools

The “Eve”—the day when sunset tells us that tomorrow is something special like Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve. We prepare ourselves in the evening for the day to follow. We set our sights on celebrations and gatherings, gifts and greetings. These preparations remind us that our intentions are what set joy in motion. Today being the last Winter Solstice Day of 2025, we take a moment to gather our intentions as well as our good wishes for friends and family. We are hoping to f

As the great pause slowly turns, we sense that soon the Winter Solstice Season will end. There are just two days left—today and tomorrow in our annual 5 days of reflection. Today we take stock and prepare. In so many ways, we are living in an era of uncertainty and distress. Conflict, worry, and upheaval are all around us, unsettling us and giving rise to great doubts about the future. So we hold steady for one more day, and rather than turn our eyes to the future, we continu

“Sabbath,” we say, “is a time of reflection where we are not required to produce anything. We may choose to be creative or quiet, in conversation or meditation, moving about the world or very, very still.” Sabbath, which the Solstice Great Pause celebrates, is that moment when we leave work and problem solving behind and find that place deep within where insight lights the way. Today is the day between reflecting on the past and looking to the future. This year, we are asking

Today, the Second Day of Winter Solstice, we look back at the last year and savor the company of those around us. There are people in our daily lives who lift us in gentle ways, often without our ever knowing how much we rely upon them. These are the people we see in the coffee shop or on the bus. We might send them off to school every morning or greet them in the office once we get there. They are people we see at church or in AA meetings or on a Zoom once a month. They are