This week's writing celebrates the sun. You will be receiving it one week after the wondrous solar eclipse. I think many of us were blessed with clear skies to enable us to witness it. I wonder if you were lucky enough to watch?

I was clear I wanted to be in a quiet and beautiful location to see the eclipse. Preferable with just Nature and no one else around. So it won't surprise you to know I chose my favourite bird cliffs at Bempton. I arrived early afternoon and headed out to the gannet chick's nest, fully equipped with eclipse glasses and a picnic tea!

It was wonderful, as always, to spend time sitting with chick (at three weeks old) and on this occasion their Mum. Unexpectedly though the sun clouded over mid-afternoon, causing me to wonder if I was going to get to see the eclipse. However I needn't have worried. The sky cleared beautifully.

I found the experience of watching the eclipse surrounded by the birds beautiful and profoundly moving. As well as the sheer beauty of it all, the symbolism of the interplay between light and shadow felt particularly poignant. Witnessing that shadow can hide the presence of light... knowing that the light nevertheless remained... simply out of view... seeing that shadow gave way once more to let the light return.

I love it that our two great sources of light, the moon and sun, appeared together during the eclipse. How awesome.

I don't have clear photographic images of the eclipse per se. I hadn't worked out how my phone could capture them. But nevertheless I will share the one I have! And, in celebration of the sun, I photographed sunset that night and sunrise the next morning. Breathtaking.

This week's self-kindness invitation is to notice times when you may feel emotionally or psychologically 'in shadow', with perhaps low mood and difficult thoughts and feelings, and to be as self- compassionate as you can, knowing this is all part of our 'being human'. Perhaps too, as best you can, you may choose to reflect on the teaching of all great spiritual traditions ... that under any shadow your unique and beautiful light still shines.

Go well.

In warmth and kindness

Barbara