Autumn Equinox
It’s the Autumn Equinox, the moment that marks marks the last day of the sun’s domination. While this is a time of abundance, from here out, slowly but surely, the nights will lengthen and the days will (eventually) get cooler.
Everything in nature responds to cycles and seasons.
Plants open and turn and close in response to the light.
Birds find food and migrate and mate according to the season
The things in your garden - plant or vegetable - sprout and blossom and wilt and die in rhythm with a natural life cycle.
It might seem like every day is the same right now.
The monotony of the weeks and months, not traveling, not going to celebrations, not gathering with loved ones.
Natural disasters and climate tragedies that start to blend together.
Loss upon loss that starts to collect into a mass of pain and heartbreak.
It might even be hard to connect with the subtle changes that are here — the shifts in light, that slightly different feeling in the air.
And yet, our bodies know. We are animals who have lived by the seasons for as long as there have been tides.
To get more in touch with your own rhythms, here are a few questions and some ideas on how to mark this transition.
As yourself:
Is there something about your schedule that wants to shift?
Are you having new cravings?
Is there a story you're tired of?
Anything that you're fighting to keep the same as it's been through summer…this year? Anything you've been fighting to keep the same the past decade?
How is your physical body? Is your skin more dry? Your sinuses? Your digestion?
Are there ways you could take better care of yourself? Name two and do them this week or month.
Let the clear shift in season give you permission to change as well.
In addition to your personal insights, here few ideas to help support the seasonal shift:
Simplify anything that is complicated
Slow down… or speed up, depending on your current pace and activity level
Have a small distanced gathering of friends at a park
Transition from raw veggies and salads to lightly cooked vegetables and grains
Eat foods that need to be in a bowl -- hot cereals, soups, buddha bowls
Adapt as the farmer's market's in-season veggies change
Go more slowly; as Richard Rosen says, "Try easier"
Take 30 minutes to write about or list what has gone well (no matter how small) and what you are ready to shed
Stay off all electronics at least two hours before bed (always)
This is an extraordinarily hard year in so many ways. Nature is our best teacher. All things change (sometimes we like that, sometimes we don’t), everything has a life cycle and things don’t always happen in linear time.
Even though we might not feel celebratory, it’s important to notice, appreciate, explore, embrace, adapt to and release the seasons and cycles of nature, of ourselves.
Would love to hear what this means for you.
With love,
Michelle
