A year has passed since those days of summer solstice when I truly felt the magical spirit of this special time. June 21 marks the longest day of the year, the sun sets for a very brief moment, given the word solstice comes from Latin and literally means 'sun stands still'.
People celebrate all evening, making bonfires to honour the sun, staying up until it rises. This is also a celebration of harvest, fertility, life.. I'd also say it is a time of clarity and wiseness, because just like during full moon our senses seem to be more open to receiving all kinds of energy and information.
This is a very powerful time of the year, and the wise old Latvians knew this: all night they would dance or chant their songs like spells: songs about the power of nature during solstice, the sun, life, luck, love, gaiety, even sex and fertility. Being 'a nation of singers', as we say - a nation that in its cultural essence is built on the power of the spoken word - the Latvians have sung their rhytmical four line verses for hundreds of years. Literally, the process is called apdziedāšana ap- denotes a process happening around sth + dziedāšana from dziedāt to sing. It is happening all year around, the Latvians would sing all the time: during work, during leisure - but when the sun stands still and there is an air of magic in the air, they know that the words will have more action in return.
Of course, nowadays the traditions have long lost their charm. For most, I reckon, the time is just a couple of days off to drink beer, eat cheese and burn something. There are some pretty cool traditions, though, which are quite well kept despite of the general misinterpretation of the meaning of this celebration. Like making flower wreaths - girls just love doing that.
Watercolour self-portrait of me last year during solstice. July, 2017
I'd say a lot of people in Latvia could reply to you why the flowers are gathered during this time: it's because everyone knows that the plants are deemed more powerful in their healing capabilities, they say it in old Latvian songs. But then why don't most people believe that our and thoughts and intentions, and words, and actions are much more potent, too?
Last year I opened up myself to feeling the spirit of the summer solstice in all its hues. This time, I wanted to perceive the celebration as a powerful time to use wisely. This time again we went out of the city to enjoy nature, but in the opposite side of the country. We went there a couple of days before the celebration. To a very peaceful place with little hills and fields, and a small forest nearby the house and a shed where we were staying. We were far away from modernization and even mobile internet connection. I was happy to be disconnected from the city world of business and errands like that. These were some 4 wonderful days in peace.
I vowed to myself to be very mindful of every moment. I was here and now all the time, since there was no other place I should be at, and there were no other subjects my mind wanted to explore. A life slowly lived and fully enjoyed. But in the times when the quiet little shed was surrounded by the murmur of the rain or I was wandering somewhere alone, I had deep trains of thoughts about some very important matters to me. I knew this was a fantastic time to resolve them. Most of all, I felt so very happy about being in nature. When I wasn't helping out with preparing meals, I loved spending time with Reinis as much as going for walks by myself. We had lovely long discussions on life and language, and film ideas, and I had lovely conversations with myself as well. Walking around, listening to birds and trees, and wind, and thinking. I often went to the nearby forest. It is quite small, but stretches over slopes and closely surrounds a path besides where a stream used to be. You can walk up the slope, through the trees and shrubs, and get to a field that oversees a valley with a lake and the neighbouring house at the top of the hill near the railway. The sun was golden and warm, and just above the lake it hid behind a large cloud, opening and closing its light on the water surface. A train went chugging by in the distance, and the milky clouds, opalescent of the sunlight, that the train emitted went up to blend with the ones already in the sky. The next days were cloudy.
Except for this beautiful late sunset, 23rd June, 22:08
When I could, I intently moved my thoughts to focus on the things I want to be and achieve, and the change I want to see in myself and others. Especially, on the beautiful night of Jāņi - the 24th of June. And because I only wanted to think of the good, or rather - the way I want things to be, and the present moment, I was blissful.
I came home absolutely refreshed and very thankful for the invention of shower, to be honest. And very thankful of having a comfortable bed instead of a hard floor as a place for sleep. And very thankful for life as it is anyway.
When thinking of all the things I was wishing for, I have started to see my wishes unfolding in life. I intentionally choose to carry the calm of the nature with me as I go, and all the other good things these days have brought to me.
Strength, resilience, happiness.
I wonder - why did I stop writing? That was actually my first motivation to join Steemit. Well, videos are much more fun I guess. But sometimes it just feels better to pour it out in silence, taking all the time to let the thoughts unfold, to consider the wording.
By the way, just last year after the beautiful Midsummer celebration with Reinis I took up writing again. This is what I wrote:
I woke up in a peaceful state of mind. The daily chatter of anxious thoughts shut out, the mind is tranquil. Finally, peace; a change that feels somewhat magical. It is the day after the Midsummers celebration. This is the gift I have been given: peaceful moments and pleasant silence of my mind. Right now, I am sitting in my reading position by the kitchen table. A moment resembling a still: through the window a faint chatter of the leaves conversing with the wind, on the table a cup of coffee emitting a hospitable vape, in my hands a book; and - a picturesque and a rather unusual circumstance - my lap is cradling a purring little body, whose ears listen to my movements and turning and tucking herself in, once again brush softly against my arm. The pleasant distraction makes my eyes drift off the page and take notice of the wonderful state my mind is in. I remembered the previous years. Hasn't Midsummer's celebration always been a turning point, a change for me?
Thanks for reading!
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