✨What if the sun knows something we’ve forgotten? (022)

Even the sun stands still

Next weekend brings the June Solstice, a turning point on every calendar, wherever you happen to live.

• Southern Hemisphere: Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night.

• Northern Hemisphere: Summer Solstice, the longest day and shortest night.

Different skies, same message.

Solstice comes from the Latin sol (star) + sistere (still)
literally, “the sun stands still.”

▶️ Watch this 40-second Winter Solstice animation (Museums Victoria)

Holding space for collective grief

Before we talk about pausing, I want to acknowledge a tragedy that stopped many of us in our tracks this week.

On 12 June 2025, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, claiming the lives of 229 passengers and 12 crew members. Only one passenger miraculously survives.

I won’t add to the speculation about what went wrong. Instead, I want to honour the profound loss of those lives and the ripple of sorrow now travelling the globe.

When news like these breaks, it’s easy to let the coverage consume us and our thoughts spiral. So, if you’re feeling tender or overwhelmed, consider borrowing a lesson from the sun: pause, ground yourself, and reconnect with what matters most. Caring and staying informed is important—but you’re allowed to steady yourself first.

Who this edition is for

This letter is dedicated to the hustlers, the high achievers who keep proving (and re-proving) themselves.

Even the most self-aware leaders can feel lost not for lack of insight, but because they’re trying to breathe inside systems that never exhale:

• Workplace cultures with relentless expectations

• Systemic pressures that tighten, never loosen

• Family and life responsibilities layered on top

The constant whisper is “Keep going…” even when your body, values, or soul is begging you to pause and re-orient.

Photo by Zachary Keimig on Unsplash

In these environments, loneliness thrives. Surrounded by colleagues, friends, or family, admitting you’re tired can feel risky, sometimes impossible.

If that’s you, let this solstice be your permission slip to pause.

When stillness feels like failure

You might hear your inner voice saying…

“Deadlines don’t wait.”
“If I take my foot off the paddle, I’ll fall behind.”
“I’ll rest once everything’s done.”

Yet the solstice reminds us:

Even the most powerful force in our solar system pauses to recalibrate.

This Weekend’s Nudge: A Pause of Your Own

Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash

Wherever you find yourself, light or dark, summer or winter, try this mini ritual.

1. Take five unhurried minutes outside (or by an open window).

2. Feel what’s true: the air on your skin, the rise and fall of your breath, the quiet weight of the moment.

3. Ask gently:

   • What am I pushing that could wait?

   • What single word wants to guide the next season of my life?

4. Capture the word on a sticky note or in your journal. Place it where it is visible to you.

Closing with kindness

The sun never fears falling behind.
It trusts its rhythm, and shines for the long haul.

May you honour the same wisdom:

• Pause.

• Listen.

• Set down what can be set down, even briefly.

You were never meant to burn out just to matter.
You were made to burn bright.

To your spark,
Mary
Burn Bright Coach
www.maryvazcoaching.com

P.S. Know someone who’s been pushing too hard? Forward this along. Remind them: even the sun stands still and what is stopping them.

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