Lighting The Stars
I feel that December, as a month, really lucked out with the whole ‘seasonal holidays’ thing.
The nights may be dark and cold, and rain and sleet may be flinging itself at the windows while an icy wind snatches at your hat - but, at this time, we are granted brief permission to believe in magic.
And I love how much people love this.
The wonder of Christmas encompasses glittering lights that brighten the streets, gingerbread lattes to warm up cold fingers, and thrilling fireside ghost stories. We pass on tantalising legends about flying reindeer. We enjoy nostalgia. We indulge in treats. We dress our homes in sparkling ornaments, and put out messages of love and good wishes from friends and family who have sent cards.
And then there is January. With all the holiday enchantment stripped away, we are suddenly confronted with a naked, sombre, deep mid-winter. And exhausting exhortations for a ‘new year, new you’, complete with the annual round of joy-thieving new year’s resolutions.
Well I say, no more! Don’t leave January out in the cold. This is not a time for donning the lycra and pounding yourself at the gym. This is still a time for magic - a time for dreaming, for going gently. For wonderful encounters with the frosty, shimming fairies of winter. For making yourself a hot chocolate, lighting some candles, and sowing the seeds for your hopes and wishes.
There is so much beauty to drink in at this time of year. Bare, black branches against a pale pink sky. Fiery winter sunsets. Foggy mornings that cloak the world in mystery. And when the nights are grim and cloudy, remember, the stars are still there.
My new painting, ‘Lighting The Stars’, is a celebration of wintry magic. When we believe in ourselves, and have faith in our dreams, and hold our loved ones in our thoughts, I feel that we are lighting our own stars.
