Finding Light in the Darkness

Four Great Horned Owls called to each other along my snowy woodland trail. I paused to listen.  

In some traditions, the Owl is known as a spirit animal guide who reminds us to listen to our wisdom and connect to our inner light.  In the northern hemisphere, we are in the shortest days and longest nights. When I heard Owl’s call, I felt an inner call to remember our inner light during the time of darkness. 

The winter darkness gives us time to slow down.

Listen to our inner knowing.

Realign with what matters. 

Reconnect to our inner light that is always available to us. 

We heart-led leaders, teachers, and healers often hold space for others and forget to hold space for ourselves. We keep giving and forget to replenish our own well. We push through exhaustion. We override intuition. We forget that our own light needs tending just as much as the people we serve.

This is your reminder call delivered on owl wings through the quiet woods: 

Pause and listen. You’re not here to power through the darkness. You’re here to shine your inner light. 

Why Do We Search For The Light?

When the days get shorter and there’s less light outside, some people experience the winter blues with symptoms of fatigue, depression, and overeating. Less light disrupts mood-regulating brain chemicals, leading to lower levels of serotonin (the feel-good chemicals) and increased melatonin (the sleep-inducing chemicals), which can contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder – SAD – in some people.

During the shorter days, you might feel:

• More tired than usual
• More emotionally tender
• More reflective
• Less social and more inward-focused

This is your body’s natural rhythm telling you to turn inward. 

Across cultures and centuries, humans have used light as a symbol to navigate the time of darkness and transform it. Many cultures celebrate a time of turning inward to find the light within. 

What do celebrations of light teach us about finding our own inner light? 

And how can these teachings support your nervous system, your resilience, and your capacity to lead with clarity and grace?

Celebrating Light: Illuminating the Dark Around and Within Us

Around the world, light represents hope, guidance, resilience, and spiritual awakening. These celebrations remind us that darkness is never the end of the story.

Christmas: Rebirth of the Inner Light

Christmas celebrates Divine Light taking human form.

Whether or not you observe it religiously, the season carries a universal message:

The light is born within you.

You carry it.

You share it.

The warmth of gathering with loved ones, exchanging gifts, and lighting candles are rituals that support your nervous system in a profound way. They regulate connection, belonging, and safety. 

During A Transformational Journey Through Life’s Challenges, Wellness Universe expert Dr. Kim Marie Pauline reminded attendees, “Your nervous system gets regulated more quickly when you’re in community with other people.”

Light grows brighter when shared.

Reflection:
Where is the “inner light” seeking rebirth in you this season?

Diwali: Clearing Space for Inner Radiance

Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness—not as a battle, but as an awakening. Lighting lamps, cleaning homes, and renewing commitments are rituals of energy hygiene.

Diwali reminds us:

To illuminate our lives, we first clear the space where the light will live.

In your own life, this may be:

• releasing outdated stories
• letting go of perfectionism
• softening critical self-talk
• allowing your body to rest
• creating space for joy

Reflection:
What emotional or energetic clutter are you ready to clear?

Hanukkah: Nurturing Resilience One Candle at a Time

The miracle of Hanukkah is a story of unlikely endurance. One small jar of oil burned for eight nights—longer than reason said it should.

This speaks directly to your resilience:

You have more inner resources than you think.

Your light lasts longer than the mind predicts.

You don’t need to feel strong every day.

You only need to tend the flame.

Reflection:
Where is perseverance quietly creating miracles in your life?

Islamic Wisdom: Light as Divine Guidance

The Quran provides a metaphor that “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth,” reminding us that light is not separate from us. The guidance, presence, and connection of Divine Light are woven into everything.

In many Islamic traditions, illuminated mosques during Ramadan represent the glow of spiritual awakening.

Reflection:
What guidance are you sensing as an inner whisper, a nudge, or a knowing?

Kwanzaa: Light as Cultural Strength

Each candle of Kwanzaa represents a principle: unity, self-determination, purpose, creativity, and faith. These are the flames that sustain a community through adversity.

Kwanzaa teaches:

Your light is strengthened in community, not isolation.

Resilience is a collective practice.

Reflection:
What community supports your light—and how can you lean in more deeply?

Lunar New Year: Lanterns of Renewal

Lunar New Year celebrations with lanterns, fireworks, and feasts welcome a new cycle. These traditions invite clarity, cleansing, and renewal.

They remind us:

You are allowed to begin again.

As many times as needed.

Reflection:
What part of your life is ready for a fresh, brighter cycle?

Winter Solstice: The Sacred Return of Light

The Winter Solstice marks the turning point for the Return of the Sun. The longest night gives way, slowly, to growing light. Around the world, candles, bonfires, and rituals honor the sun as it reappears after the darkness.

During the Solstice, we are reminded:

Even the smallest return of light matters.

Healing often begins as a flicker, not a blaze.

Trust the gradual return.

Reflection:
Where in your life can you embrace the flicker of hope and choose inner stability, breath by breath, moment by moment?

Shared Threads: What Celebrations Teach Us About Ourselves

Across every culture, we find the same wisdom:

1. Light is hope.

We light candles and bonfires to shift the energy of a space. 

2. Light is connection.

We illuminate each other through heart connections.

3. Light is resilience.

The human spirit is resilient, and we celebrate our endurance.

4. Light is spiritual guidance.

Our inner light leads us quietly and steadily back to ourselves.

5. Light is cyclical.

Your inner light ebbs and flows. That’s nature. That’s human.

“How do I stay resilient when I’m tired?”

Here are simple practices: 

1. Get present in your body

Pause.

Breathe.

Feel your feet on the earth.

This shifts your nervous system from scattered to centered.

2. Drop Your Awareness from Head to Heart

Imagine breathing through your heart as if you have a nose in the center of your chest.

This activates coherence, calm, and clarity.

3. Let Your Roots Reach Into the Earth

Visualize tree roots growing through your feet, spreading wide underground.

This grounds swirling thoughts and emotional tension.

4. Ask Your Heart: “What Do You Need?”

Quietly listen.

Your inner light often whispers before it shines.

5. Create Your Own Celebration of Light

It can be simple:

• Light a candle each morning
• Take a twilight walk
• Share a meal with someone you love
• Start a small journal of gratitude
• Perform a daily moment of stillness

Rituals don’t need to be elaborate—they need to be meaningful.

What New Traditions Will You Create This Year?

As the owls reminded me, darkness is not something to avoid. It’s a sacred landscape where you awaken intuition, where guidance becomes clearer, and where your inner light glows from within.

My prayer for you this winter:

May you listen more deeply.
May you honor your own rhythm.
May you trust your inner illumination.
And may you remember:
You are the light you seek.

Ready to Tend Your Light and Strengthen Your Resilience?

If you feel called to deepen your grounding, embody your inner wisdom, and meet life’s challenges with more grace and ease, I invite you to join me for the Grounded Presence Workshop beginning this January.

This powerful, experiential program helps you:

• Regulate your nervous system
• Rewire your stress response
• Strengthen intuition
• Build emotional resilience
• Return to your center—anytime, anywhere

If you’re longing for more clarity, grounding, and inner peace as you step into the new year, this is your invitation.

Click here to learn more and reserve your spot: Grounded Presence: Deepening and Strengthening Your Skills 

I would love to support you in embodying your brightest, most grounded self.

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Leah Skurdal guides people to up-level their stress resilience to improve relationships. Leah shares intuitive insights in private Energy Healing to address the roots of disharmony. As an inspirational speaker and published author, Leah offers lively classes, experiential workshops, and keynotes.

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