Winter Solstice

Today I will not write a long post about all the types of hunger that don't have to do with food, but there are a bunch. Nourishment has to do with many aspects of life. Satisfying our most innate desires is important so that we don't compensate later. Today is the Winter Solstice and acknowledging and celebrating this day makes huge contributions to some of that non-food type of nourishment. The Winter Solstice is an extremely Primal moment in the year. This 24hr period is the longest stretch of darkness we will experience in the year. Cold and dark. Two of the original human challenges. We need visible, feel-it-in-your-gut type enemies, like coldness and darkness. These are human challenges that unite us in our attempts to overcome them. For those of you with experience living in cold places you are familiar with that slight euphoria that precedes a big Nor-easter. Everyone runs to the store for batteries and bread and laughs and jokes and shakes their heads together. As a society we don't have those moments very often. Some of my most memorable moments from when my children were very little involve battling the weather with my Circle of Mamas. Leaving the house to be together, to make soup together and to mother together was a big adventure in the winter. I remember one cold winter day where we congregated at my friend Katy's house for some sledding. The Moms joined forces to keep the kids mittened, booted and warm, but while the fun was going on there was a little thaw so that the icy driveway became even slipperier. When the sun headed down over the horizon everyone went to go home and my friend Deb couldn't get out of the driveway. Her old SUV was of the type that did not engage 4WD unless it could move a little. An entire crew of tired Mamas and kids worked to push, shovel, innovate and sand to get Deb's vehicle free. Unite and fight together against an enemy that is real and not another human!! Cookie swaps were less about cookies than about a little human contact in that long stretch of cold and dark. Fire takes on an important role at the Solstice too. Heat from a fire is warming like no central heat system can ever be. Kids love fire (like most adults). Let them light candles and poke the back yard Chiminea. Teach them to build a fire. If they burn their fingers give them some ice and aloe and they will have grown smarter in the process. Fire is dangerous, challenging and incredibly rewarding. Of course cooking food on your fire makes it better. Keep it simple. Four Christmases ago my family and I spent the holiday in the Chiricahua Mtns. Santa found us there, but I forgot to pack any knives or silverware! We cooked over an open fire with sticks and it was hilariously challenging. Amazing how inept and useless we all become without out little crutches! Following a Primal diet should not be done out of context. Notice your seasons, your weather. Provide yourself and your family with some of those other aspects of primal living that are just as nourishing as food. Celebrate the Winter Solstice.