Glassjarhenge

Glassjarhenge tells me the light is returning.

Here in the northern hemisphere the longest, darkest night has passed, and we’ve made it through another year. 

Around this time a shaft of glorious light shines in the window over my kitchen sink just before sunset, perfectly illuminating Glassjarhenge, which is the little assemblage of canning jars I store on a north-wall shelf. 

This diminutive dusk display echoes larger structures built to mark the Sun’s turnaround. 

They all indicate the Solar New Year, a traditional moment of renewal and rebirth, both of which are much needed today. 

Happy Solar New Year to all our readers. Thank you for traveling with us on another amazing trip around our Sun. 

We are looking forward to another one, and are grateful for the opportunity to spend another year growing and learning together.

May the light be with you in the journey ahead of us.

Reflection on Kindness and Generosity

On this cozy Christmas Eve of 2025, as the world softens by candlelight and a forecasted blanket of snow, I am wrapped in gratitude for the simplest, most heartfelt factoid of the season.
Amid this joyful pause, let's notice something truly beautiful about us humans: how naturally our hearts turn toward kindness, giving, and sharing.
We bake extra cookies for neighbours, linger longer in conversations, offer a helping hug or a listening ear.
We share our time, our stories, our homemade treats, and we do it freely, without keeping score or expecting applause.
These quiet acts form the “giving economy”, the generous and unseen foundation that holds our world together.
We can have shops and pay checks only because the paid system rests on the deeper layer of our natural tendencies toward kindness and generosity.
Without the unpaid care that feeds stomachs and souls, mends hearts, and renews us all year round, there would be no money-based economy at all. Or civilization. Or humans, probably.
This holiday season shines a gentle light on this fact, reminding us that true abundance isn't found in more things, but in open arms and meaningful connections freely offered for the betterment of all living beings.
And the beauty of simple living is that we don’t have to wait to live this way.
In simple living, we lean into this truth. 
We choose presence over presents, and find deep joy in realizing our natural tendencies toward kindness.
I hope your evening is filled with laughter around the table, the scent of cinnamon or pine, and the quiet knowing that your kindness matters more than anything.
May the many small acts of giving and receiving warm the world tonight, and year round.
First, give the gift of being kind to yourself. 
Next, extend it to others.
Repeat.
This makes everything else possible.