Good Solstice To All

Today, in my hemisphere, it is what used to be referred to as "Mid-Summer". We celebrate the Summer Solstice today, and I'll be celebrating by starting the day out with a swim, and then shopping for groceries, doing some cooking and housecleaning (and my usual three loads of laundry for the day), and catching up on some computer work. Generally speaking, I'll be busy inside, and won't have much opportunity to enjoy the outside. I'll get to see the sun rise over the pool, though, and that's always a wonderful thing. 

Not my pool, but sunrise above a pool quite similar to mine. 
It's always so wonderful. We're actually going outside in 
some light right now. That, of course, won't last long. Within 
a month we'll be running outside in semi-dark once again. 

For my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, it is your Mid-Winter celebration today. You're now turning the corner, heading towards the spring and summer months of promise still to come. It is your darkest day, the day when the sun is celebrating with the North and barely acknowledging the South. That will change, my friends. Beginning with this day's rise, your days will be getting longer while our days will shorten. 

Today is the Solstice. Celebrate with 
Great Joy. 

Life has a rhythm to it - nature knows it well. The young have already been born and are growing up quickly. They must learn everything possible and grow up quickly. Winter is just around the corner and they have to be ready. The birds will be getting ready to push their young from the nest soon. The four-footed will teach their young how to harvest and save for the upcoming cold months, and those who have been in the cold and dark will be feeling the promise in the air of warmer times and abundant food. 

The world offers hope and promise to all, it is up to us 
to help it along, though. I might be introspective on 
Solstice days, but that's not our of character for me. 

I find the changing times of the year to be times of hope and promise. But then I look around at our world and shake my head. The promise still is given. It exists. But as we imprint upon this world, changing it in so many ways, I'm not sure the world will continue to hold hope and promise for humanity. Because humanity is inhumane, self-centered, and short-sighted. That might be me being introspective, but there's a kernel of truth in all of this too. Think what this world might have become if humanity had not developed to spread across the face of the world like a plague. Would we have the pollution? The world-wide wars? The bruising chemicals, terraforming and short-sightedness that is characteristic of humanity? 

I despise cockroaches, but it's been said that they 
will inherit the earth. I doubt that, but they probably 
have a better chance than many other living things. 

All I know is that we've left our imprint upon this earth, but cockroaches will inherit it. Little can effectively kill a cockroach except a hard boot- LOL. Have a good solstice celebration and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.