Boxing Day

I’ve always enjoyed Boxing Day. It’s quiet and low key—a day of books, jigsaw puzzles, and leftovers. This year Boxing and Christmas Days look much the same, but still there is a sense of exhaling this morning. A hint of reflection and intention with a measure of rumination. There are things to do, but not yet. Not just yet.

As a word person, I begin this day in the company of them. Some come through conversation, others through emails and text messages, still others are whispered with a voice so divine directly into my bruised and tender heart.

Boxing Day comes like a gift offering both time and opportunity to ruminate on them. Don’t rush back into the world if you’re able to linger. There are intangible and valuable presents to discover and unwrap.

The other day I took this photo on a cold mid-morning. The sunlight filtering through low clouds cast long and deep shadows on the snow, and there was a sparkle no camera can capture. But it was the interest of the shadows that caught my attention. There is a time for shadows and the thoughtful beauty that’s absent in the glare of full-on sun.

So maybe this Boxing Day is a good time to be still and look closer at the shadows and see what wisdom might be hidden in them. Or maybe it’s a good time to get lost in a book, or the meditative practice of putting together a jigsaw puzzle, or to make art. Maybe it’s a good day to just let it unfold as it will.