The sun reached its nadir on Monday at 5:02 AM (EST) while most of us were warmly tucked into bed and dreaming perhaps of a different kind of holiday celebration during this awkward year of 2020.

My wife was not one of us.

As she has done in previous years she awoke early to meditate and celebrate on this celestial event. After all, the holidays we celebrate at this time of the year are about light from the darkness. Kind of makes sense to acknowledge the one that started them all.

As she walked outside and reflected on the time, the crisp air and crunchy snow led her to a rose bush by our house.  We had a late bloom of roses this fall and all of them were hanging limply on their stems, not having survived the last freeze. As she went to brush away some snow from a few lower limbs, she was rewarded with the discovery of a few survivors who had the blanket of white protect them from the cold.

Like these few roses that survived, we too are built for resilience as nature showers her experiences of recovering from the depths of winter’s darkness towards the fullness of summer’s long days like the clock that she is in our lives.

While our lives have been disrupted during this year of global pandemic and social transformations, nature maintains her truth, day to day, which, is a comforting source of resilient energy.

I hope that your celebrations are filled with love and joy and good times with your family.

Happenings 

The Leadership Café 

Aradhna Oliphant is a dear friend and is also the President and CEO of Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. (LPI), the premier resource for community leadership identification, connection, and development in Southwestern Pennsylvania. LPI seeks to strengthen regional leadership through programs, partnerships, and connections.

In this episode, Aradhna discusses how she first moved to the Pittsburgh area and became involved with the LPI program. Following the curriculum with the idea that those who join the program learn how to become better leaders in services for their community.

© Richard Citrin 2020