5 Lessons from the Fall Equinox
Fall officially arrives this weekend (2:50a ET, if you want to be precise), and I am ready for it.
I know it’s cool to gripe about winter, but I find summer tough.
The mosquitoes, the humidity, the heat, the noise. As a Swede from New England, I just don’t feel built for it.
When fall starts to creep in, I feel relief, a coming back into myself.
My brain wakes up, my body wants to move, and I crave gatherings with loved ones, wrapped in porch blankets, surrounded by candles.
Nature is one of our greatest teachers, so today, I give you…
5 lessons from the autumn equinox
1. This, too, shall pass.
When the days seem endless – endless light, endless unstructured hours with the kids at home, endless sweat, endless bug bites – I remind myself that this, too, shall pass.
As summer draws to a close, I’m relieved that a hard season is wrapping up. And I remind myself to savor the fleeting treasures, because those pass, too.
Journal prompt: What are you ready to release? What are you holding close to your heart?
2. Balance might not look the way you think it should.
There’s so much talk in our culture about striving for balance.
Work-life balance. Balanced diets. Balancing responsibilities.
Here’s the thing: for much of the earth, even daylight isn’t balanced but twice a year. And not only is that fine, it’s to be celebrated! That’s how we have seasons and rhythms to shape our year.
When you extend the time horizon from a day to a year -- or longer -- it all balances out.
Journal prompt: Where might the pendulum have swung too far for you? How can you allow it to come back into balance?
3. Abundance is a natural state
Fall celebrations are historically centered around an abundant harvest. After the toil of spring and summer, we get to reap the bounty and begin preparing for winter.
When a forest is left untouched, it teems with life – from microscopic bacteria to towering trees, and everything in between.
When we create the right conditions for our gardens, flowers bloom and veggies grow – often to the point of needing to offload tomatoes and zucchini to neighbors.
When you breathe in, your lungs fill with all the oxygen you need.
It’s a marvel, when you think about it.
Journal prompt: How are you experiencing abundance right now, today? What conditions could you change to allow even more abundance to flow into your life?
4. Letting go can be beautiful
Quick elementary school science refresher:
As nights grow longer in autumn, trees produce less chlorophyll, the remaining chlorophyll breaks down, and that allows us to see the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows that were masked by the green of spring and summer.
Yes, trees need chlorophyll to survive. But they also need to direct their energy elsewhere when producing chlorophyll stops being worth the squeeze. The result is a radiant display that inspires people from Finland to Japan to states across the U.S. to head outside and marvel.
Journal prompt: What’s not worth the squeeze right now? What will you allow to shine if you let that go?
5. Rest is nonnegotiable.
Of course, after the leaves dazzle us with their colors, they fall to the ground, leaving the trees bare for the next few months.
But the trees are not dead! They are conserving energy for their next adventure when the conditions are right.
Sometimes we need to do this, too. We grow, we reach, we dazzle! And then? We need to rest. It’s the only way we can be ready to do it all again when the time is right.
Journal prompt: What kind of rest are you craving right now?
