Qarrtsiluni. An Inuit word meaning “Sitting together in the dark waiting for something to arise.” (Sometimes translated as burst forth, sometimes bubble up.)
Of course the Inuit would have such a concept. Months of darkness, huddled together for warmth, for survival. How necessary would those pauses of silence be. How wise to understand the power of silence to process, to wait for the emotional volcano of disagreement, spurting forth frustration and anxiety to cool until the reality of interdependence and love can be felt.
Waiting together in the dark…
How wise also to Know deeply the importance of remaining together. For interdependence is a fact, not a belief. And few understand it better than those living in The Great Wild, where survival is not assured but earned with sweat, collaboration and sacrifice.
February is (figuratively) the longest, darkest month of this planet’s cycle around the sun. It is the period where I feel hibernation’s torpor most keenly in both my body and my soul. And perhaps rather than forcing myself against these planetary forces, I join you in Qarrtsiluni.
Photo credit: Northern lights at winter night by Daniell Langford
