Shortest Night

This year the Summer Solstice has been celebrated along with Father’s Day this year. It is an important celebration and it seems most everyone knows about the Summer Solstice, the longest day in the year, the shortest night, and the turning point towards the Winter Solstice, the shortest day in the year. When I first began writing about the solstices and the equinoxes, I felt like a solo singer as I encountered many who hadn’t a clue to what these names meant. Even my own medical doctor, a scientific man, would ask me about them at once entranced and at the same time embarassed that he didn’t know. But things have changed and I no longer feel I need to write explanations for these astronomical passages in our year. Is it the increased awareness of Climate change? Is it many people's return to a more native view of the universe? Whatever it is, I see many mentions of it and hear folks talking about it which is a wonderful thing.

To my pleasure, I realized small things associated with these astronomical passages are a part of my annual routines; small things that I’ve come to mark these very passages in time. For instance, I have two bed covers from an Asian source that provide good insulation in Summer and in Winter. They are reversable and so counting each side of two bed covers each with its own color scheme, I have four colors to choose from. One side is an orange color with grey toned ginko leaves. I like it because it reminds me of the brightness of Summer. The more subdued color on the other side reminds me of Fall. And so on the Summer Solstice I removed my “Winter/Spring'‘ cover and brought out the Summer/Fall cover and placed the bright orange side up for the Summer season. I hadn’t realized before how much of a ritual I had made out of this gesture at this particular time of year centered as it is on the Solstice. And, as a gardener, there are other routines I engage in that I can now see are regulated by the seasons as well; tasks that need to be done in preparation for the coming season. And so I have internalized these seasonal shifts in my daily behavior. That makes me very happy.

I can say the same thing about my practices and studies - in Aikido or Shodo - both are Asian arts I have studied for a very long time. And both introduced me to principles and movements that were alien to me before. But now when I look at my life although it took a while to absorb, I see the principles of both these arts are evident in my natural movements of daily life. Both are similar in that they teach a kind of receptiveness that we Westerners don’t always appreciate. Quick to fill in the gaps of conversation, even difficult ones, we often make things worse by forcing the issue when it might be rectified by a slower less controlled approach. And so my practice and study have transformed me somewhat; that is a good thing.

Aikido teaches students not to force things mostly through partner practice where a forceful touch can elicit a defensive reaction which makes the whole movement a struggle instead of a smooth movement. This is something we can practice in many daily activities as well as it’s based on a principle. For example, maybe this person said they were coming over today… well are they? When are they coming? is one approach which can be made, and even more forcefully if the questions are followed up by messaging them to demand a plan. But what if we just went on about our day and observed if and when they show up. It’s a question that gets answered in time; we don’t need to rush.

Countless other activities have similar options; such as staying calm while driving which seems to grow more and more difficult these days when so many drivers do stupid things that might endanger us. And so getting excited or anxious many would see as a reasonable and natural response to getting into traffic. But if that happens, we may become drivers almost as idiotic as the ones that make us anxious. Driving slowly and being alert serve me very well in traffic, even difficult traffic when speedy drivers are jogging for position. I let them have their position, I even help them at times; why not let them go? But it’s another matter when a neighboring car is driven by an impaired driver, impaired by alcohol, vaping, or messing with their cell phone or kids. I try to stay as far away from them as I can. At the very least, I keep a watchful eye on them. It’s a lot to keep track of and so slowing down and taking a breath is helpful to staying safe.

Slowing down is a kind of self control. It helps a person to stay calm and centered. I was recently in a conversation with a person who was going through a rough patch in life that was causing frantic speech to the point that I had a difficult time understanding what was being said. The best thing for both of us was for me to listen; I could catch the gist of the conversation and that was enough; things began to slow down and the telltale sign of centering - laughter - finally emerged at the end of the call. Also I heard a distinct long breath, a good sign.

Laughter is calming. It is supposed to be healthy: Linus Pauling a respected scientist, advocated cancer patients laugh to help them find healing and he had some evidence that it was indeed helpful. When a person laughs their body loosens up a bit and when a person loosens up their body is not held as tightly and things inside the body can move more freely. Conversations, too, go better where there’s a bit of humor to enjoy; forcing and laughing don’t happen at the same time.

And so the moral to this piece is that when a person finds they have absorbed into their the same movements and observances the natural world makes, like the observance of the Summer Solstice, where reminders and explanations are no longer necessary to honoring those passages; i

t’s a step forwards.