All Hail Winter Solstice
Today is winter solstice. The names of such astronomical events have featured regularly in our school textbooks but unfortunately, the books had always cast a dull, monochrome light on these events. Be it the solstices, the equinoxes, the neap tides, the eclipses or any other astronomical or geographical events, the school textbooks had always managed to make them dull, boring and esoteric events which are supposed to be mugged up for exams but never to be comprehended.
I, like everyone else, hated memorizing those dull, arcane definitions and ended up losing any interest to delve deeper into those topics. Though these events as academic subjects have always bored me but as astronomical/geographical events they have always held my interest.
Leaving the confines of classroom and entering the threshold of the expansive world, I realized that I practically know nothing. That's when I decide to enrol myself into the school of Nature and comprehend the mysteries that She holds so close to her bosom. Actually, She never conceals her ways from us, it is we who refuse to look straight into her Laws and further complicate things while She conducts all her business in plain view.
For example when I was in school, sea breeze, land breeze, neap tides, low tides and high tides always befuddled me. It's not that I am very dull but the way these natural phenomena were dealt in my textbooks rather than explaining them further complicated them and rendered them boring and abstruse. I never thought that I would ever come back to these topics once I was done with my exams. And it turns out that I was absolutely correct about my prognostication. But when I visited the sea a few months ago, I found my determination to shun those topics wavering. As I saw the majestic sea before me swaying in its own rhythm, unmindful of the gaze of the puny humans, I was awestruck. I found myself wondering about the natural phenomena which I once abhorred. As I saw those phenomena playing out before my eyes, my thirst for knowing them began haunting me. Consequently, I referred a few books but this time they did not induce drowsiness rather I perused them late that night, happily sacrificing my sleep to the altar of knowledge. Though the language of both the books, my school text books and the reference book, were quite similar but in the later case I had a magnified interest.
This incident made it amply clear to me that the natural phenomena transcends those boring 2 pages long explanation of the textbooks. They are much more than that and one can really appreciate their magnificence when one sees them oneself.
Today as I was surfing internet I saw the doodle Google dedicated to the special occasion of winter solstice. To be honest, I had quite conveniently forgotten that today is winter solstice even after mugging it for so many years for my school exams. Anyways, the reminder by Google was enough to turn my enthusiastic mode on. After being reminded of today's significance I experienced an improvement in my mood, suddenly I was filled with gratitude and all thing cheery, jovial and good. Though this phenomenon is not directly related to me or will affect me in any major way but my sudden excitement and cheerfulness may indicate the fact that no matter how puny we humans are in relation to the heavenly bodies or Nature but at some deeper level everything is inter-connected. We are all connected to each other and any phenomenon, however irrelevant or insignificant they may seem to us, is actually connected and somehow always carry significance for us.
As I clicked on the doodle, a page popped up on my screen defining winter solstice. However, the definition did not bore me rather it piqued my interest. Maybe, the cute doodle made the written words interesting or maybe the phenomenon itself is so interesting that any attempt to define it is consequentially rendered interesting. Whatever be the case I am glad that I found it interesting and it gave me some food for thought as well. I would like to quote the definition that was propped up on my screen, in order to share what it leads me to think.
"The winter solstice, as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere."
As we are told that today is the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It carries somewhat negative connotation, albeit a vague and unfounded one. Usually, a long night refers to the dark or difficult phase of one's life; however, this midwinter phenomenon is celebrated with gusto all around the world and in many cultures. This is because winter solstice also marks the day from which the shortening of the night and the lengthening of the daylight begins. Thus, we can infer that though winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight yet it also marks the lengthening of daylight henceforth. Maybe through winter solstice Nature in her own cryptic manner teaches us that when we are faced with an absolutely bleak situation we must always remember that nothing is absolute, neither happiness nor sorrow. We must always endeavour to look beyond the surface and find joy in every situation life throws our way. Maybe our ancestors had comprehended the lesson Nature sought to teach us and hence they celebrated this apparently bleak natural phenomenon.
I don't know whether I am anywhere closer to comprehending what Nature seeks to teach us but I am happy that I have finally learnt to look beyond the surface and what those monotonous texts have to offer us. Maybe, I am in the path which will lead me to look beyond the bleak surface and find the small ray of hope and happiness. And this endeavour certainly calls for celebration.
May we learn to celebrate Life.
Happy Winter Solstice.
I, like everyone else, hated memorizing those dull, arcane definitions and ended up losing any interest to delve deeper into those topics. Though these events as academic subjects have always bored me but as astronomical/geographical events they have always held my interest.
Leaving the confines of classroom and entering the threshold of the expansive world, I realized that I practically know nothing. That's when I decide to enrol myself into the school of Nature and comprehend the mysteries that She holds so close to her bosom. Actually, She never conceals her ways from us, it is we who refuse to look straight into her Laws and further complicate things while She conducts all her business in plain view.
For example when I was in school, sea breeze, land breeze, neap tides, low tides and high tides always befuddled me. It's not that I am very dull but the way these natural phenomena were dealt in my textbooks rather than explaining them further complicated them and rendered them boring and abstruse. I never thought that I would ever come back to these topics once I was done with my exams. And it turns out that I was absolutely correct about my prognostication. But when I visited the sea a few months ago, I found my determination to shun those topics wavering. As I saw the majestic sea before me swaying in its own rhythm, unmindful of the gaze of the puny humans, I was awestruck. I found myself wondering about the natural phenomena which I once abhorred. As I saw those phenomena playing out before my eyes, my thirst for knowing them began haunting me. Consequently, I referred a few books but this time they did not induce drowsiness rather I perused them late that night, happily sacrificing my sleep to the altar of knowledge. Though the language of both the books, my school text books and the reference book, were quite similar but in the later case I had a magnified interest.
This incident made it amply clear to me that the natural phenomena transcends those boring 2 pages long explanation of the textbooks. They are much more than that and one can really appreciate their magnificence when one sees them oneself.
Today as I was surfing internet I saw the doodle Google dedicated to the special occasion of winter solstice. To be honest, I had quite conveniently forgotten that today is winter solstice even after mugging it for so many years for my school exams. Anyways, the reminder by Google was enough to turn my enthusiastic mode on. After being reminded of today's significance I experienced an improvement in my mood, suddenly I was filled with gratitude and all thing cheery, jovial and good. Though this phenomenon is not directly related to me or will affect me in any major way but my sudden excitement and cheerfulness may indicate the fact that no matter how puny we humans are in relation to the heavenly bodies or Nature but at some deeper level everything is inter-connected. We are all connected to each other and any phenomenon, however irrelevant or insignificant they may seem to us, is actually connected and somehow always carry significance for us.
As I clicked on the doodle, a page popped up on my screen defining winter solstice. However, the definition did not bore me rather it piqued my interest. Maybe, the cute doodle made the written words interesting or maybe the phenomenon itself is so interesting that any attempt to define it is consequentially rendered interesting. Whatever be the case I am glad that I found it interesting and it gave me some food for thought as well. I would like to quote the definition that was propped up on my screen, in order to share what it leads me to think.
"The winter solstice, as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere."
As we are told that today is the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. It carries somewhat negative connotation, albeit a vague and unfounded one. Usually, a long night refers to the dark or difficult phase of one's life; however, this midwinter phenomenon is celebrated with gusto all around the world and in many cultures. This is because winter solstice also marks the day from which the shortening of the night and the lengthening of the daylight begins. Thus, we can infer that though winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight yet it also marks the lengthening of daylight henceforth. Maybe through winter solstice Nature in her own cryptic manner teaches us that when we are faced with an absolutely bleak situation we must always remember that nothing is absolute, neither happiness nor sorrow. We must always endeavour to look beyond the surface and find joy in every situation life throws our way. Maybe our ancestors had comprehended the lesson Nature sought to teach us and hence they celebrated this apparently bleak natural phenomenon.
I don't know whether I am anywhere closer to comprehending what Nature seeks to teach us but I am happy that I have finally learnt to look beyond the surface and what those monotonous texts have to offer us. Maybe, I am in the path which will lead me to look beyond the bleak surface and find the small ray of hope and happiness. And this endeavour certainly calls for celebration.
May we learn to celebrate Life.
Happy Winter Solstice.
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