Amid all this turmoil, take a moment to be still, tune into the earth and give thanks for all the good things in your life on this Winter Solstice. Dim the lights, light a candle and some incense, and switch off all your devices apart from some gentle music. Sit comfortably, close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
This Yule ends a fraught year for everyone, so it's even more important we spend a few moments sending loving energy to soothe and heal this ravaged planet and all her inhabitants.
"But what is there to be grateful for?" I hear you ask.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Last night's sleep - giving your incredibly-engineered body a chance to regenerate.
- This morning's sunrise - the birth of a brand new day.
- The air you breathe - hopefully fresh, clean and energising.
- The food which sustains and nourishes you, and all the people who worked hard to provide it.
- Your health - no matter how much it has been depleted by the many nasty ills around us.
- Your family, friends and all who support you - thank each one personally for how much better they have made your life.
- Your creative talents, and everything you have achieved this year.
- - - - Of course you have achieved something creative!
- - - - Every meal cooked, plant nurtured, wall painted, and of course, every smile.
- Anything else you can think of to be grateful for.
If that still doesn't work for you, there are many more suggestions online - just type "Winter Solstice Meditations" into your search engine and see which suits you best. Several spiritual types offer guided meditations via Zoom (or the like), but you will have to register (and probably pay) to join in.
In past years, I've journeyed to Avebury to welcome the shortest day with other nature-loving spirits at Avebury. In 2013, my Aunty Lynne and I watched a full moon set moments before the sun rose. The frosty ground soon turned muddy as Mother Nature joined in our celebration with healing rain. enough people gathered to form a circle atop the largest henge in the world as we sang and danced, accompanied by a motely crew playing all manner of intruments. we had a cosy pub meal in Devizes and slept in the travel Lodge on the 20th, getting up refreshed at the civilised time of 7am.
It was a vastly different experience than the summer solstice, where people begin long before dusk and the Red Lion does a stirling trade feeding and watering the hoards. To the accompanyment of tribal drumming and spectacular fire-poy, people party most of the night, grabbing a few hours' sleep amid the stones. In my experience, people tend to stay in their own groups to watche the sun rise without the overwhelming sense of togetherness, however it's still way preferable to the louts who take over at Stonehenge. But maybe you've had a different experience.
Even simpler is a kaleidoscope candle - just fix 2 mirror tiles along one edge so they are hinged together, mirror sides facing each other. 
I used gaffer tape (aka duct tape, or, for the musos among us, roadie tape).
