....cast of characters

Yogis,
The equinox we experienced on Tuesday is one of four transitions throughout our year. The December winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, is the beginning. One quarter of the way through we hit the balance of the spring equinox, as daylight then begins to outweigh night, followed three months later by the summer solstice. The longest daylight of the year. On then to the autumn equinox and finally back to the beginning. A complete cycle with each of the four heralding in a new season.

Everything in nature exists within a cycle. If we were to look to the moon, those corresponding four points in the same order would be the new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter. In our breath it would be the beginning of the inhale, halfway full and then the peak of the inbreath, followed by halfway empty and the end of the exhale. A birth, growth, decline and death.

Everything in nature exists within a cycle.

However, we are the only creatures that no longer live our lives in accordance with this natural rhythm. We are the only ones that require artificial constructs such as calendars and clocks to tell us what to do. Everything else, from the tiniest ant to the giant redwoods know no other way than being in sync with the beat of the Universe.

In the name of progress, the more inventive we become, the further we move away. Electricity took away the importance of light and dark, and hot or cold as we can control our environment with the flip of a switch. Unlike the deer, we no longer have to graze on local seasonal food, as transportation brings us anything we desire with a short trip to the store or a click of a mouse. We don’t need to know which way is south as GPS will take us there.

When I look at the state of things today, I can’t help but wonder if our detachment to the natural flow and our grasping onto the material world of thinking and acquiring plays a role. Have we lost our gift of intuition? Of knowing? Of trust? I look to my garden for guidance.

As the light shifts the bugs know. Its as if a whole new cast of characters arrived this week! Wasps with red rimmed yellow eyes jostle for space on the late blooming Goldenrod. A dapper long bodied orange beetle clambers up the stem.

A toad takes up lodging under the dense mat of my black eyed susans, making an appearance each time I sit nearby. One of those new insects must provide a tasty meal. And snails now adorn the leaves.  Where do they all come from and how do they know it is time?

I often feel a yearning to reconnect to the ways of the world. To let go of the material and lie back into the flow that sits right outside our door. Do you ever feel that?

There are many ways we can begin. Simple things. Like always knowing what stage the moon is in and where you will find her in the sky. Watching your yard, like a sundial, throughout the year to see the shifting movement of the sun across the sky. When close to water, knowing the high and low tides and feeling their distinct energies.

Being able to point to the four cardinal directions while standing on your front yard. Belonging to a CSA to reconnect with our food source. Or planting a garden…..even in pots….to re-learn the secrets of the earth.

I watch. I listen. I feel. The sun rises tomorrow at 6:54 am……..

I am not separate,
SARAH