Achingly sweet and terrifically difficult days are upon us. Without even touching on the political scene in the United States, which takes an effort to avoid right now, I find late November an emotional time. I witness changes and find vigor in the adjustments I make.

Thanksgiving came to my house with both kids home from college and jobs. Our family and community witnessed the elegant end of a dear friend’s life on Thanksgiving Day. It was a poignant period of mourning and celebration of her life lived vibrantly and openly through the very end.My kids are bigger than when I began this blog 9 years ago. I thought I was writing about the sacred in the ordinary, about motherhood and how I lived it. That is all still true, but the changes that have transpired along the way have utterly altered the landscape of what I thought was ahead for me.Life has changed me. I have been changed by life. Our lives were touched by our dear friend’s life and we are changed for knowing her and her family.

Living life vividly changes us.

What has carried me through this past week is the promise of Advent Dark Journal. It is born from my dedication to daily practice, even in the dark and difficult times. How I have navigated these years of motherhood and writing and making art and being in community is through the compass of daily creative practice. It tunes my awareness in unexpected ways.

The light on the back of the dark beast of winter is reflection and revelation, advents and epiphanies, of inquiry and letting go.

If you feel the ready edge of the holiday season or find yourself drenched in emotions that don’t match the party scene, if quiet spaces beckon, grab your journal and join me for weekly prompts emailed on Friday mornings for 6 weeks, or take the option of those emails plus 2 online gatherings on the Zoom platform. Learn more here. Thursday, November 29 is the final day to register.I am glad life changes me.I wouldn’t live any other way.I was tenderly touched by my friend’s life. I hear her voice say my name & cherish the hours we spent together for 22 years of knowing each other.

Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” 

Take time this holiday season to Savor the dark so that you might also honor the light.xo,S