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Cross-posted from Seeta’s Environmental/Photography Blog:

The Waning Light Ahead…

Today officially marks the first day of summer with the sun at its highest point in the sky gracing us with the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The great paradox, of course, is that with the arrival of summer, along with its attendant abundant signs of life, the days will gradually begin to grow shorter from here on out as we head into fall.

This paradox is the inherent law of nature: the balance of life and death. During summer, the sun shines its brightest at its greatest strength with the promise of shorter days and waning light ahead. Shorter days ahead are not cause for sadness or melancholy, but is a gift that allows deep appreciation for the fleeting, ephemeral beauty of life and our transient and impermanent place in it.

Implicit, too, in the paradox of the summer solstice is the inevitability of rebirth. We can immerse ourselves in the here and now, reflect on the swift inevitable passage of time, and also have an appreciation for the value of seasonal changes ahead.

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