Equinox greetings! The seasonal wheel has turned again, officially rolling us into autumn here in the Northern hemisphere.
Equinox is a time of balance. And Autumn sets loose the forces of transformation.
I’m ready to celebrate this equinox with even more enthusiasm than usual. I certainly feel ready to turn the proverbial page and start a new season. I’m coming to think of the summer of 2019 as the one that slipped away from me. I have the odd feeling of somehow being behind in my life. Projects I was sure I’d have completed this summer still need attention. Things I imagined doing are still in the imaginary realm. I look back and wonder where all those weeks went; and how something could feel so intense and yet so ephemeral at the same time.
So yes, bring on a new season and the opportunity for a fresh start!
But even before I begin, I really do like to take some time and celebrate the actual equinox – that point of balance. Before rushing headlong with plans and ideas and to-dos for the new season, I like to take some time and review. And what better time to look at what is out of balance in my life?
I don’t have one particular way of doing this. Over the years I’ve found I appreciate more organic flows for this rather than ritualized systems. So I simply act on inspiration as to how I want to conduct my review. In the past I’ve taken a look at my life in terms of Charlie Gilkey’s brilliant categories – Consume, Connect, Create – and seen what my balance looks like there. While truthfully I’m not overly happy with the current state of my affairs in this regard, this really is a time to circumvent judgment. I’m simply going to gently look at and make note of what I want to bring more of into my life and what I want to release.
It really does feel like a time to be gentle with myself; and I can see that being true for so many folks around me. Transformation is inevitable. We only need to look at the autumn leaves and see that. But I’m voting for gentle transformation for myself; and for kindness and compassion for all. And that sounds like the perfect note I want to enter the new season with.
I love these words from poet Edward Hirsch:
“…every year there is a startling moment
When we pause in the middle of a long walk home and
Suddenly feel something invisible and weightless
Touching our shoulders, sweeping down from the air:
It is the autumn wind pressing against our bodies;
It is the changing light of fall falling on us.”
I know that moment and love it as a blessing. And I receive it with a heart-felt yes.
I also love this vintage card image:
The caption on the card reads “May life bear golden fruit for you this year.” Isn’t that lovely?
I wish you a lovely Autumn (or Spring for my friends in the other hemisphere) – may it be filled with bright beautifulness! And if you’re feeling out of balance too, I wish you ease and grace as you work towards equilibrium. May we enter this new cycle ready to greet all its golden gifts with gratitude and meet all the opportunities from the place of yes deep within,
This is lovely Deborah thank you. You remind me/us of the symbolism of the Equinox, the time of balance, and of its beauty that is in in process as it transforms before our eyes.
‘It is the changing light of fall falling on us.’ Edward Hirsch’s poem says it clearly.
May ease and grace, joy and beauty fall on your doorstep and within as well …
Happy Equinox!
Thank you for your kind words and wishes Susan. And I hope Spring showers you with endless blessings to enjoy.
I like the idea of balance because autumn is a balance of light and dark, sun and rain, warmth and cooler temperatures. The summer got away from me too; my to do list is growing, and not shrinking!
It certainly does seem like time accelerated and whoosh a whole season past, doesn’t it? I hope you get a handle on your to-do list and that there are plenty of fun things on it as well.
AHHHH, DELICIOUS AUTUMN!!! Happy AUTUMN TO YOU, and thank you very much for the wonderful CATALOG OF UNABASHED GRATITUDE!!! I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOU!!!
Just thinking of unabashed gratitude fills me with delight Vicki – I want to hold that close in my heart always. Happy autumn indeed.
and from over this side it is the full glory of spring emerging…the wisteria taking centre stage, the swallows at nest over the kitchen door, the black snake gliding out to bask and in this moment of balance it seems anything but balance out in the world and within. as you noted there has been an intensity and an ephemeral quality and perhaps this is the way of it now. time seems to have taken on another hue and what once held meaning no longer does, the territory/ season we move into is uncharted and I am reminded to approach with curiousity humility and grace. blessings to you dear sister and gratitude for your light.
sandra
You delight me always Sandra with your poet’s heart and eye. And it makes my heart happy knowing that your half of the world is experiencing Spring now. There’s such fullness and symmetry in held by our beloved Gaia isn’t there?
Hi Deborah – the spirit of balance is what we need … so true. The weather has changed – lots of rain for us in the south after a dry summer … politics – still upheaval – quite relevant here. Life is as it goes – I’ve made some decisions … now to sort things out and get on – knowing the major decision (for now) has been made.
Autumn is definitely here – but the plants will love the rain, chucking the dust of their leaves and watering their roots … while the air is generally cleansed.
Personally I’d rather be with Sandra – prefer Spring … but love change and the different ways of life the seasons offer us … take care – cheers Hilary
Ah there’s such a sense of relief when a decision has been made and you’ve decided which path to take, isn’t there?
I like your image of cleansing rain Hilary. So much of our world could use a good dose of that, at least figuratively.
Spring is my favorite too, but I expect autumn will be showering us with quite a few delights as well. Have a happy one!