an ancient day

We gathered in silence in the chapel at Wooster School in Danbury at 8:30 this morning. The pelting rain and raging wind and wooden floor squeaks were the only sounds in the hush.  The names were read and the beloved phrase "gentle, generous, truthful, kind and brave" was our anchor. At 9:30 the prefects rang the bell, and its tolling joined bells in other steeples all over our small state of Connecticut. It was sad and solemn and sobering.

The days cannot get much darker here. Yet when we stepped out into the world, it felt washed clean and the heavy and grey clouds were being chased away by the thinnest of sunbursts. In some ancient way, we have honored the darkness, and in some more miraculous way, nature has taken us by the hand and said...look...the light is irresistible, magical and welcoming.  Move in that direction. Be brave and faithful and be hopeful.

Happy solstice, dearest ones. May your days be spangled and brilliant and filled with wonder.