Tidbit to Threads No. 11

Summer Solstice: Recognizing the Light That Has Been Growing All Along

The Summer Solstice arrived on Sunday in North America, and as it did, I found myself reflecting on how beautifully it mirrors the journey of a human life.

The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, the moment when the earth receives its greatest amount of light. To me, there is something deeply symbolic about that.

Life unfolds in seasons. There are seasons when we are growing beneath the surface, seasons when we are simply surviving, and seasons when we are finding our footing. Then there are moments when we pause, look back, and realize just how far we have come. Not because life is perfect, but because what was once hidden has become visible.

The solstice reminds me that growth is rarely obvious while it is happening. Years of learning, grieving, healing, hoping, and beginning again can feel slow and often invisible. Yet one day, I found myself standing in a light I could not have imagined during my winter season.

I wonder if this is the invitation of the solstice: to pause long enough to notice. To recognize what has matured. To honour what has survived and celebrate what has finally come into bloom.

What if the longest day is not about reaching an ending, but about recognizing that the light has been growing all along?

“Can you notice your own light and the journey it took to get here?”

The Seasons of a Life

Spring, to me, is a season of beginnings. It carries with it hope, possibility, and the courage to start again. Seeds are planted long before we know what will grow. In life, spring is the season of emergence, where we begin to recognize ourselves, discovering who we are becoming and learning to trust what is taking root within us.

Summer then arrives, bringing growth and abundance. I feel its energy, purpose, connection, and the opportunity to stand more fully in who I am. It is often the season when the fullest expression of what has been growing within us begins to emerge. It is a time of contribution, creativity, and the deep self-knowledge that comes from living authentically.

Autumn is the season of harvest. It brings perspective, gratitude, and the wisdom that comes from experience. It is where I gather the fruits of what I planted and nurtured. This is also the season when I begin to release what no longer serves me. It is a season of sharing what I have learned while planting seeds for what comes next.

Winter is the season that invites deeper reflection. It brings stillness, healing, and the unseen work of transformation. While life on the surface may appear slow, important things are happening beneath it. Winter has taught me that growth is not always visible and that some of life’s deepest learning takes place in quiet places.

The beauty of life is that we move through all of these seasons more than once. Just like in life, we are continually beginning, growing, harvesting, resting, reflecting, and beginning again.

To me, the summer solstice invites us to pause and acknowledge the light. To honour what has grown through every season that came before: the resilience forged in winter, the hope planted in spring, the abundance of summer, and the wisdom gathered in autumn.

Perhaps the longest day of the year is an invitation to honour all of it. The fuller journey.

The Paradox of the Solstice

I believe there is a quiet lesson in the solstice. At the height of the light, the season is already beginning to change because nothing in nature remains fixed. The cycle continues, inviting us to grow, adapt, and evolve along with it. Perhaps the solstice reminds us that every season of fullness carries within it the seeds of what comes next.

Doing gradually gives way to being. Striving gives way to meaning. The scattered pieces of our lives begin to come together, forming a deeper understanding of who we are.

For those of us beyond midlife, the summer solstice may symbolize something even deeper:

“I am no longer becoming who I thought I should be. I am becoming who I actually am.”

This is the season where the scattered and fragmented pieces of life begin to come together. The wounds, detours, losses, loves, failures, and unexpected turns all contribute to a fuller, wider, and deeper understanding of ourselves.

“The summer solstice is not the day the flower blooms. It is the day the garden realizes it has been blooming all along.”

I believe the solstice invites us to pause and ask:

What in me has reached maturity?

What gifts are ready to be shared?

Where has light returned after a long winter?

What am I now being called to, rather than striving for?

As I reflect on those questions, I find myself surveying the land before me: water sources, mature trees, blue skies, and mountains calling from a distance.

For me, it’s continuing to share where my writing takes me, as I’m thoroughly loving this journey that I only discovered a few years ago.

And after the deep work of writing my story, I find myself leaning into higher education, integrating the experiences, lessons, losses, and discoveries of my life. I feel like I’m answering a call to continue growing, exploring, and becoming.

Bringing perspective rather than perfection.

The gifts I feel called to share are both my ability to witness and my ability to share my story. Over the years, I have learned that there is great power in being seen, heard, and understood. I have also learned that our stories have the ability to illuminate a path for someone else.

And of course, I will do my utmost to salt and pepper my days with creativity and fun because something unexpected and beautiful is unfolding.

And I cannot wait to share it with you.

Will you join me?

Small moments. Deep threads. A return to self-trust.

Author of Velcro Kisses: prophecy, trauma bonds and Reclaiming narrative.