This week is one of transition, as we, in the Northern hemisphere,  come together to honor the return of light.  The word halcyon is said to come from a mythical bird who, breeding in a nest floating at sea at the winter solstice, charms the wind and waves to calm.

My grandson loves the book Ziji: The Puppy Who Learned to Meditate, and from the photos in the book seems to associate Ziji with the Buddha.  We were at my son’s home for Christmas Day, and when grandson saw the statue of the Buddha in the gazebo in their yard, he said Ziji.  I sit with the image now, peace, a mind at peace.

I’m with the words of Edward O. Wilson:

 It is possible to spend a lifetime in a magellanic voyage around the trunk of a single tree.