Winter Solstice 2021
Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
I read a long time ago that this is the time of year when we enter the domain of the heart like a bear going into its den for the winter. Bear is a spirit associated with courage in traditions from the Ainu of Japan to the Indigenous of Turtle Island, to the Norse and the Slavs of northern Europe and Russia. Perhaps we make this association because Bear stands her ground. While her nature is gentle, she is nearly without fear, unlike cousin Rabbit or cousin Deer.
I have thought a lot about courage as we have approached the long nights of winter this year – and I have struggled with my seasonal letter because we light our lives against darkness together over these holy days and we traditionally celebrate hope and new beginnings.
It has been a long time since we have been called as a society to embody courage for the sakes of our children and our families and as someone who has made a career of helping people prepare for the future, I suggest the time is coming to awaken the Spirit of Bear from its slumber.
The stresses of the pandemic and dramatic changes in our media environment have made people vulnerable. Predatory and parasitic forces are co-opting our religious and spiritual instincts and are dragging us towards the likes of Q-Anon, Flat Earth, Anti-Vaxxer and the Trumpist Big Lie cults, which we tend to think of as right-wing, but there are forces on the left, the “Alt-Left,” that are perhaps even more dangerous.
Gathering packs obsessed with grievances and paranoias of persecution claim that we live in a world of all-pervasive systemic injustices. These are tricksters, illusionists and spellcasters and they claim our society continues to universally oppress and victimize people. These coyotes in sheep’s clothing, draw the naïve to their cause and prey on the vulnerabilities of people’s compassion, leading them to believe that to be a good person, one must embrace “Social Justice” as the only acceptable cure for the world’s ills.
Instead of bringing Good News, they bring vengeful and critical condemnations of the society we live in, and instead of liberations they seek to dominate and control others. They sew division, animosity, and mistrust amongst us. They are forcing their beliefs onto others and intimidating and silencing all critics. We can see this happening to professors at universities around the world and because mob justice and populist pitchforks never improves humanity, I believe we are called to awaken Bear in us to stand and speak simple truths in the face of absurd charges.
JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, is demonstrating such courage for fighting against attempts by activists to entrench in law that a man can become a woman just by waving a magic wand and speaking magic words.
When a man can say, “I am a woman” and instantly become a “female” and then become a world-record holder in women’s sports like swimming we erase the accomplishments and hard work of women – and we destroy the world of opportunity we have created for our daughters and granddaughters.
There are many proliferating absurdities like this and while the integrity of women’s sports may seem inconsequential, the proponents of these Orwellian claims are weaving these conspiracy theories into institutional structures and legislation at all levels of government in Canada affecting education, medicine, policing, social services, and many other areas of our lives.
I am hopeful for the year to come as people awaken to the viral proliferation of these toxic ideas and false narratives within our institutions.
Today I chose the courage to reflect upon and share my gratitude that we live in the healthiest, safest, most abundant, most inclusive society in history. I chose to celebrate that while we are not perfect, people who live in the developed world today have greater freedom and greater prosperity than any humans have ever enjoyed in history. I chose to celebrate with my LGB loved ones, with my friends and family who belong to visible minorities, with the Keepers of Knowledge who taught me about the Spirit of Bear; I celebrate the incredible strides we have made in the last half a century towards acceptance and integration of all people into our society in our ongoing efforts to create a better world for all people.
The hibernating bear, fortified against the dark and the cold dreams of sunshine, summer berries and salmon-runs. She reflects the lessons of times past. She is slow to awaken in the time of thaw, and she lumbers, drunk-like for a while as her energy, her courage and her power, returns to her limbs and her body.
She has been sleeping for a long time but when she stands awake in her glory, in defense of her children, even packs of jackals retreat from her.
Shannon B Douglas