Living in the Northern hemisphere, spring and summer are my favorite seasons. Spring brings feelings of revival and summer the joys of outdoor fun with friends and family. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the late winter magnolia blooms are the promise that Nature is awakening. I love watching the bare brown branches of dormant trees grow green with budding leaves. The brown hills turn green and the geese return. I anxiously look forward to the vernal equinox when the light of day finally begins to surpass the dark of night.
But, for me, the autumn equinox usually brings feelings of melancholy. Knowing that 6 months of darkness lies ahead, I mourn the loss of the sun rising high in the sky, beaming directly into the east-facing half of my home. In early September, I become dismayed that the sunrise is later and later each day, moving south toward spring in the southern hemisphere. Upon awakening, I walk out to the eastern windows of my home looking over the foothills of Tuyshtak, the indigenous name of my Spirit Mountain, that most people call Mt. Diablo and give thanks for the gift of another day in the one Life that is God and pray to see God in the Nature, people, and situations I encounter.
This year has been a different experience as I enter into my soul’s expansion in its final incarnation on this plane.
Nature’s seasons show us how Life is a cycle of release, rest, renewal, and abundance. Every fall, trees show us how to release what no longer serves us. When days are shorter, leaves can only produce a small amount of energy, so it’s more efficient for the tree to lose them and go dormant until spring. Losing leaves enables trees to conserve resources and resist the effects of the harsh winter.
This year has taught me many lessons, particularly the practices of self-care and self-compassion. I live in an attitude of gratitude and have always been an optimist. And this year, I started a practice of making a friend of my fear, putting it in an imaginary left pocket, knowing it also has much to teach me here in this earth school.
I’ve learned to love my body for the miraculous vessel it has given my soul. As a result, realizing and embracing the lessons and blessings the autumn equinox brings.
