The Autumn Equinox approaching means Trees begin to lose their Leaves. My photo, taken at Lone Lake Park in Minnetonka, MN on Sept. 21 2014.
Autumn has returned, and the Earth’s turning and tilting allows us some time to prepare for the trip into Yin; The Winter- with her evening darkness extending into the afternoon.
Luckily there is still some Time. The Golden glow of sunlight on these opening days of October offer the opportunity to make preparations for the Winter.
For me, there is much Summer clutter to rediscover and remove. Saving stuff is really only worth the trouble if you will be able to find it. Downsizing and paring away the extraneous or erroneous aspects of our Existence is an excellent way to stay in the Flow of the Seasons.
Don’t be afraid to slow down. Hibernation will soon be the hottest craze in Mother Nature’s chilly spaces.
I visited with a chiropractor today and we discussed a great many things, but what stuck out the most was a simple distinction between two modes of action.
Many of us operate from a Reactive mindset. If there is an ache, we take a pill. We are always responding to circumstances.
What is lacking for the majority of the population is the Proactive attitude. Rather than merely responding to circumstances, how can we create them?
Even small and seemingly inconsequential habits have a dramatic impact on our overall condition.
When our habits are not Wellness promoting, we slowly (or rapidly) fall out of balance.
When our habits are healthful, we often don’t feel drastically different, which makes it hard to stay on track. There is no spectacle, parade, or festival.
When it comes to the Human Body however, No News is often Good News.
All the effort that goes into maintenance and upkeep can feel like a wash, and it is still no guarantee that things won’t break down, but when we are Proactive about well-being we find that the Reactive tactics become less necessary.
And although it may not feel like much, the little steps we do take often mean much more than we realize.
Shelter from the Radical Freedom of the Outside World. An amphibious experience in the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota. My photo from 2013.
In the upper midwest, we endure decidedly harsh Winters. Cold temps can keep a lot of us indoors almost completely.
Springtime always begins as the most subtle sensation of Sunlight seeking Soil underneath mounds of snow and sheets of ice. The Wintertime Blues makes most of us a little bit moody, or melancholy somehow.
Months away from the radiant Yang energy of the Sun; and Seasonal Affective Disorder can settle in. Whether or not naming it makes it a real thing, or not, is irrelevant really. Truth is, a great many animals in this Kingdom seek shelter and rest during this daunting season.
Humans, too, would benefit from at least partial Hibernation, in some form or an other. Pushing onward at the pace of Humanity instead of Nature is somewhat against the grain of Human Nature.
For many of us the Facts just add up; We feel the dreariness and fatigue of fighting off frigid below-zero blasts of Arctic Wind and the drawn out Darkness; Dawn and Dusk just a blink of an eye.
So,
as the Globe turns us back toward the Sun’s embrace slowly we can sense the tingling and teeming of Life stirring all about. From dens and hideaways, little faces emerge, out to explore and maybe forecast the coming conditions.
Hmmm…
The Self who understands the Cycle of Seasons sees the Movements, and so an Inherent excitement arises. The gathering of little bubbles dancing on the bottom of the pot before the boil; a quiet steady tremble, tickling the soil.
Soon the buds will burst forth, blades of grass will regain their healthy Green glow, giving our feet luxurious lawns to laugh across, or where we can lay down to look up for a While; and fields for the Fellowships of birds, flowers and yes, even the flies and bugs that feed upon us. We just tune into the increasing energy;
but stay grounded and steady too. Spring Cleaning is that Time to take one last inventory before sorting out the storage.
Letting Go or Leaving; or, What’ll be receiving Your focus and intention in the next moving-this-direction?
Yin-Yang-Yoga 